False God
by Relena for President
Summary: Relena could feel every hair on the back of her neck standing on end. She tried to push the panic down, but warning sounds were blaring in the back of her mind. This wasn't Trowa. It couldn't be. But…no, that was impossible. Or was it? The idea that someone had cloned a former Gundam Pilot…that thought was truly terrifying.
1. Chapter 1

Trowa Barton was looking at the impossible. But as horrifying as it was, it had to be real.

He had already seen several photos, and now he was watching a video of a man with Trowa's exact face, eyes, hair and build, reciting what sounded like an impassioned, apocalyptic sermon. This man was more than a doppelganger; he could have been Trowa's identical twin.

Or, more likely, clone.

Trowa blinked at the screen. This was…beyond disturbing.

"See what I was talkin' about?" Duo Maxwell tapped the screen from where he stood next to Trowa, leaning over the same monitor. "Freaky as fuck, am I right? Goes by the name 'Aiden Wardwell.'" Duo shook his head, sending his long braid swinging. "I can't get over the resemblance, man. First time I saw this video, I thought it was you doing some new, weird performance art."

Trowa arched a brow at that, but said nothing.

"So." Sally Po folded her arms over her chest and leaned back against the desk, looking pointedly at Trowa. "You can see why you're a…natural fit for this mission."

Trowa shook his head to the side, stunned. "Yeah… I can see that."

The question remained, though– where did this replica come from? Or was _Trowa_ the replica?

He shook his head again, dispeling all the questions. There were still some holes in his memory that might never be filled; clearly, this was one of them. Unless he'd somehow been cloned without his knowledge, but one would think they'd remember at least something of an incident like that.

It was times like these that Trowa cursed his amnesia, more than ever. Most of the time it was just an annoying inconvenience, but today's revelation was nothing short of devastating. How could something like this have happened? And why?

Right now, though, he didn't have time to muse over whatever had occurred in the past. He needed to focus on the mission at hand.

"Commander Gold will be here shortly to go over the particulars," Sally was saying. Trowa nodded, frowning.

"What about Heero?" He could only assume his longtime friend and fellow Preventer would be involved. Sally surprised him by sighing.

"On another mission, unfortunately," the tall blonde said. "We tried to get a message to him but have yet to get a response. His whereabouts are as yet unknown…"

"Ah, you know Heero, though." Duo stretched his arms behind his head. "He's not one to sit around at a time like this. Once he's heard these creeps are holding Relena hostage, he'll blow them straight to kingdom-fucking-come."

"Not until we've found where they're hiding their weapon, though," Sally said, her expression grim. "Or, weapons." She jerked her chin at Trowa. "That's where you come in."

"Right." He ran a hand through his long bangs. "At least infiltration won't be a problem."

That part of his assignment would be a cakewalk. All he had to do was break in to wherever his double was hiding, dispatch him and take his place.

"What are the odds a bunch of religious fanatics are harboring a nuke, though?" Trowa wondered.

Sally shrugged a shoulder. "Doesn't matter. Whether they actually have one or not, we have to take all tips seriously. And anyway, the fact that they kidnapped Relena shows that they're definitely up to something." Her eyes narrowed in determination. "Regardless, we have to get to the bottom of it, and get her the hell out of there."

"Of course," Trowa said. Rescuing Relena wasn't a question. Years after the wars that had united all of the disparate soldiers under a single cause, Relena Peacecraft was still the glue holding them all together.

"Don't you worry about all that right now, though," Duo cut in with a sly smile. "You leave the rescuing part up to me and Miss Sally here. And probably a third, very enthusiastic, very _deadly_ agent, if he ever decides to get his ass over here…"

"He will." Sally turned to Duo. "Like you said, he's probably not sitting around. He may even be taking action of his own accord…" Her words trailed off into a sigh. "Which I really wish he wouldn't do without checking in, but…"

"Ah, well. Can we blame the guy if the power of love compels him?" Duo chuckled.

Trowa frowned at his fellow agent, not exactly seeing the humor in the situation. If Heero were to interfere without informing any of them, he could compromise the entire mission. Trowa wasn't about to let that happen. He needed to focus on his role.

Time to find out everything he could about one Aiden Wardwell...

* * *

Relena blinked her eyes open slowly, and soft, pale light gradually filled her vision. She struggled to lift her head; it felt leaden and swollen. Her back hurt, and she realized she was lying down on something hard, a stiff cushion on a plane of wood that offered no real support or comfort.

Wherever she was…it could have been worse, she reasoned, but she was definitely sore and uncomfortable. She did a quick mental scan of her body, assessing any injuries. A trick she had learned not only from Heero Yuy, but also from years of yoga and meditation practice. Nothing felt especially hurt or broken, but her head was hazy.

Most likely, she had been drugged. Despite her efforts to stay calm, panic seeped into her chest.

It wasn't the first time she'd gotten herself drugged and captured. And given her line of work, it probably wouldn't be the last. She knew every time that she was lucky to survive; hopefully, this time would be no different.

Something told her that it was, though. Along with the panic, a sense of helplessness crept in as Relena forced her eyes to stay open, and slowly began to take in her surroundings.

The room she was in was dimly lit. Actually, there were no lights on at all; all of the light was coming through large, narrow windows, some of which were covered with wooden shutters. The room was large and filled with rows and rows of wooden benches, separated by a single aisle. No, not benches, but…pews.

Relena's heart thudded.

She was in...a church. But why?

"Oh, good. You're awake."

Relena turned her head at the low male baritone, which sounded oddly familiar, although she couldn't place it at the moment. What she saw made her gasp.

The voice was familiar because it belonged to someone she knew.

"Trowa?" she whispered, sitting straight up in her pew. "What are you doing here? What's going on?"

Her heart pounded faster as he walked over to her. He was dressed in a charcoal-colored suit, not all that well-made, with a white dress shirt and black tie. She wondered why he was somewhat dressed up and not wearing his Preventers uniform, when clearly he had come to rescue her from whoever had taken her.

The events from earlier that day began to weave themselves back together in Relena's mind. Somehow, she and her bodyguard had been jumped in the ESUN parking garage. She hoped that Sphen, her bodyguard for that day, was all right, wherever he was. Right now, it appeared that she and Trowa were the only ones in the room. Or rather, sanctuary, Relena corrected herself.

He came to a stop before her, his one visible eye watching her closely, but didn't answer her questions. Relena frowned up at him. She didn't know Trowa all that well, but she knew he was characteristically quiet. Still, this was a little ridiculous.

"Trowa," she repeated more vehemently, "tell me what's going on."

He smiled, but his expression was far from friendly. "What is that strange name you keep calling me by?"

Relena gaped at him. Okay, so he was clearly doing some undercover thing. She wanted to call him out on it, but had to assume they were being watched. This wasn't her first rodeo.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, feigning ignorance. "You just…remind me of someone I used to know."

His green eye gleamed. "How funny." Trowa dropped to one knee in front of Relena, tipping his head to the side as he looked at her. "How are you feeling, by the way?"

Relena rubbed the back of her neck. "Fine, I guess. A little lightheaded and sore."

"Would you like something to drink? Some water, perhaps?"

Relena gazed at him closely for a moment, trying to read something behind his…eye. Some signal, maybe. But she didn't know how to communicate with Trowa like that. If it were Heero, she would be able to see right through his acting. But Trowa was a performer for a living, when he wasn't working with the Preventers; needless to say, reading between the lines with him was going to be tricky.

For now, whatever role he was playing didn't appear to be dangerous, so Relena decided to put her trust in him. Without knowing what she was in for, she saw no other choice.

"Sure, water would be great," she said.

"Then come with me." Trowa stood and extended his hand. Relena took it and let him help her up, although her head was still swimming.

He wrapped his larger hand around her smaller one, his skin surprisingly smooth. She had never held hands with Trowa before, but she had definitely done it with Heero. And, in different circumstances, Duo and Quatre. Never Wufei; he always found a way to avoid making any unnecessary contact, even on a rescue mission. But one thing the other pilots all had in common were the rough calluses that covered their palms and fingers. Even Quatre, who had been taking on more administrative work in recent years.

There was no way that Trowa Barton had baby-soft skin like this.

Relena could feel every hair on the back of her neck standing on end.

She tried to push the panic down, but warning sounds were blaring in the back of her mind.

This wasn't Trowa. It couldn't be.

But…no, that was impossible. Or was it?

She knew cloning was possible, it just wasn't all that common these days. Nor was it legal, and that was something ESUN was currently grappling with. The idea that someone had cloned a former Gundam Pilot…that thought was truly terrifying.

For now, though, Relena needed to swallow her fears. And hope that the real Trowa had gotten wind of this, along with the rest of the Preventers, and that they were already making a plan of action.

The doppelganger was leading her up the aisle, to the back of the sanctuary, where there was a set of doors, and a hallway that veered off to the right. She followed him down that hallway, her heartbeat thumping loudly in her ears. The hallway was dark…no way did she intend to follow this stranger into a dark room.

The alarm bells in Relena's mind clanged louder. This wasn't good. She had to get out of here, somehow. And if no one else was around to help her, she was going to have to save herself.

Of course, her gun had already been confiscated; she hadn't had a chance to check on her person, but she could feel the absence of its familiar weight. That alone indicated that this had to be a hostage situation. If this were the real Trowa and he was taking her to safety, wouldn't he have given her back her gun? She knew Heero and the others would have.

There was no way this was Trowa, she reminded herself as the hallway opened up to a darkened stairwell, that Relena was determined not to go down. Hell, even if Trowa had started getting spa treatments...which, maybe? He was gay, wasn't he? She was pretty sure he was gay...anyway, it didn't matter. She was going to operate under the assumption that this was a clone. If it were the real Trowa, he wouldn't try to stop her from escaping then, would he? Either way, she had to do something.

Summoning all the strength she had, Relena kicked hard at the false Trowa's shin. She'd clearly caught him off guard, and he stumbled forward, right toward the stairs.

Success.

Relena didn't wait around to see if he fell, but she could hear his surprised grunt and the sound of him stumbling. She bolted without so much as a backward glance.

But in her blasted heels, she didn't get far. She heard footsteps pounding behind her. She was just reaching the sanctuary doors, which hopefully opened up to freedom, when she was grabbed by her long hair and jerked backward.

"Not so fast," she heard Trowa's voice, accompanied by a snicker.

She reached up her hands to grasp his, trying to wrench them away from her hair, but they gripped her tightly in place. She dug her fingernails into the backs of his hands and scraped with all her might.

"Bitch." He hissed in her ear and loosened his grip, just enough.

It was the opening Relena needed. She spun around to face him, driving her knee high up into his groin. Trowa's eye bulged and he doubled over, clutching his abdomen and letting out a strangled cry.

But once again, she didn't wait around to see if he was going to stay down. She ran for the double doors and pushed against them.

They didn't budge.

Relena pushed her full weight against them, straining herself and grunting, but the doors were obviously locked.

Great.

"You little cunt," she heard Trowa seethe from the ground. "You'll pay for that."

She turned to face him. He was struggling to rise to his feet. She smiled and pulled off her shoes, one heel at a time.

"Careful," she purred. "I'm armed."

He let out a raspy laugh. "So am I, sunshine." He reached into his waistband and pulled out a handgun, aiming it right at her. "So stop being such a bitch and come with me."

"How about…no." Relena pulled back her arm and lobbed a shoe at him, aiming for his head. He managed to dodge and laughed at her.

"Think that's a good match for a gun, little girl?"

Relena steeled herself as his finger closed around the trigger, and squeezed. Okay, so this definitely wasn't how she wanted things to end, but she'd be damned if she'd go down without fighting.

The bullet whizzed past her, and ricocheted off a nearby wall, landing somewhere in the distance with a "ping."

Relena gaped at him. "Seriously? Were you even trying?"

Trowa scowled at her, and staggered to his feet. "Shut up," he groused, storming over to her. He kept the gun aimed at her head while his free hand wrenched one of her arms behind her back. He pressed the barrel of the gun to her skull and began dragging her back down the hallway.

Well. This definitely had to be a doppelganger, who was fairly useless as a terrorist, or whatever he was trying to be. That or Trowa was doing some pretty convincing bad acting.

Relena sighed as the man pushed her forward, the cold metal barrel pressing into her forehead.

* * *

_A/N: This story was partially inspired by the Taylor Swift song of the same name (and yes, I have a "False God" playlist on Spotify, so head over and find it under my username Erin Dale Darling!), the Omnicat story "Blue Trees," and more recently "Conflicted" by Wings_Landing; after reading both, I couldn't resist trying my hand at a similar scenario, albeit with different characters and under far different circumstances. Still, the overarching theme is sex under duress! I couldn't help but think, wouldn't it be fun if Trowa were the one who found himself having to have sex with Relena? Then I thought, what's Heero going to think of all this? I guess you'll have to read to find out!_

_If you enjoy this, please leave kudos and reviews! This story has an unholy 13 chapters and I will be posting them over the course of the month, so keep an eye out for updates. Thank you for reading!_

_Love love love,_

_\- RFP_


	2. Chapter 2

This mission was getting weirder and weirder.

The Preventer's intel had led Trowa to an old stone church that, judging from the dilapidated outside, hadn't been frequented in years. Many old houses of worship had been repurposed for other things over the years, especially in the past century or so, after so many humans had moved to space. Historic buildings like this one were getting harder and harder to come by. Outside, the stones were all weathered and covered in vines. The place had been abandoned for decades, probably.

He supposed it was as logical a place as any for a group of cult fanatics turned terrorists to call their HQ.

The building was large, but Trowa had infiltrated many large bases all by himself in the past. Like he'd thought earlier, this was going to be a cakewalk. It was a little scary, how easy this was all going to be. Namely because he happened to bear an uncanny resemblance to the group's leader.

Aiden Wardwell. Trowa felt he already knew way too much about him; way more than he wanted to know. At any rate, he would be using all of this gathered knowledge to his advantage.

He was seriously looking forward to dispatching this monster, although he wasn't allowed to kill him, which was unfortunate.

Trowa lowered his binoculars and looked down from where he was perched, across the street on top of another old abandoned building. This one had been a gymnasium, or some sort of hall. The whole neighborhood looked abandoned; there weren't even any cars. So Trowa had to assume that Aiden was all by himself in the church with Relena. That or the rest of the "congregation" had all arrived on foot. He knew how many people were members – roughly a hundred – but not how many could be inside the church at that point.

Unfortunately, he was going in blind, although Duo and Sally were rallying backup. However, they couldn't strike until Trowa had confirmed that the group didn't actually have a nuclear warhead; or, if they did, that the weapon had been secured. Luckily Trowa was also a demolitions expert. Unluckily, for him, he was going to have his hands full.

And he knew that rescuing Relena wasn't part of his mission, but… if he could find a way to get her away from this psycho, before he did the unthinkable, Trowa knew he would have to act. Otherwise, Heero would never forgive him. Trowa doubted the rest of the world would, either.

Pushing his rising anxiety deep down, the way he'd learned to as a child soldier, Trowa clambered off the side of the building and scaled down the vines that snaked up and over the side of it, landing with a near-silent "thud" on the ground. The clothes he was wearing made maneuvering the way he normally would a little more difficult, but so far he'd managed. If he were going to impersonate a cult leader, he would have to look the part. So, he'd donned a slightly oversized gray suit and black dress shoes, like what he'd seen Aiden wearing in many of his videos. Une had managed to locate items that were practically an exact match.

Before he left Preventers HQ to travel to what used to be New England for this mission, Trowa had taken photographs in this outfit and done side by side comparisons with photos of Aiden. He'd also watched countless videos to mimic his exact pattern of speech. Despite being a pastor and self-appointed prophet, Wardwell wasn't the most articulate person, but that made him all the more easy to mimic. Trowa practiced the wry tone of voice and slight regional accent until he had it down pat. It was weird, how someone who shared his looks and his voice could still somehow appear and sound so different from him. It was like having an evil twin.

As Trowa ambled along the street, he steeled himself for his upcoming encounter. His best bet was to disarm Aiden – assuming he was armed – quickly, then knock him out and cuff him, and leave him for the Preventers to interrogate later. He needed to find that bomb.

Something nagged at him to find Relena first, but he pushed it out of his mind. That wasn't his priority, at least not at the moment. He breathed through his nostrils as he approached the all-too-quiet church.

Maybe…this was going to be more difficult than he thought.

At the moment, though, he had at least one advantage; the church was closed off by two wooden doors that had definitely seen better days. That, and it was nightfall. At any rate, no one would see him approach. Of course, he still didn't know what laid beyond those doors.

The Preventers had dug up the building plans, so Trowa knew the entire footprint. This was the main point of entry, but there was also a set of back doors. What Trowa didn't know was whether either set of doors were guarded.

He was about to find out.

Trowa applied gentle pressure to the doors; they were locked. No matter; he could easily unlock them, but he decided the back doors were the wiser option. Silently, Trowa stepped down the stone steps, shuffling his way to the back of the church, sticking to the shadows. The full moon wasn't doing him any favors, though.

The moon was part of the group's plans; apparently there was supposed to be a lunar eclipse tonight, and the group's activities were planned around it. Which was part of the reason why Trowa had to wait for nightfall to attempt to infiltrate the church. He tried not to worry about whatever they might have done to Relena in the meantime. She'd been with them for at least a full twenty-four hours now; anything could have happened. His only hope was that they had their reasons for keeping her alive. But oddly enough, they'd taken her without any sort of ransom. All of the intel about their alleged weapons arsenal had been leaked on the dark web.

That made the situation all the more dire.

Trowa crept up to the back doors, which were made of glass. His cover would be blown if anyone saw him approach, but at least he could see inside. He peered through the doors and saw only a darkened hallway, with a light illuminated far ahead. No one appeared to be lurking anywhere nearby. Trowa knew they had cameras, but in his Aiden disguise, he wasn't worried about getting picked up. He just had to ensure that no one else in the group saw him and Aiden together at the same time.

Which would be a lot easier, once he had Aiden cuffed and locked in a closet somewhere.

Still moving silently, Trowa picked the lock on the doors and pushed them open gingerly, then stepped inside, shutting them behind him, making only the barest of sounds. He was quieter than a, well, church mouse. It struck Trowa that that was a joke Duo would make, which indicated that he had probably spent way too much time with the jovial Preventer lately.

As if he knew he'd invaded Trowa's thoughts, Duo's voice sounded in the tiny earpiece Trowa wore inside his ear.

"Yo, TB! What's good?"

Trowa rolled his eyes even though Duo couldn't see him. He wasn't in the position to respond yet. Duo should know better than to contact him while he was in stealth mode, but at least the earpiece was so small, only Trowa would be able to hear it.

"You mean Agent Gamma," Commander Gold's voice sounded next in Trowa's ear. "And, Agent Beta, I will caution you not to disrupt Agent Gamma while he's working." Her voice was clipped, annoyed. "Agent Gamma, if you're listening, and I assume you are, check in only after you're secure to do so."

_Roger that. _

Trowa crept down the darkened hall, following the light that glowed in the near distance.

* * *

_A/N: Thank you to those of you who have reviewed so far! I hope you like where this is going... stay tuned for the next update in a few days!_

_Happy FriYAY!_

_\- RFP_


	3. Chapter 3

Relena was waiting, but for what, she didn't know.

Trowa's look-alike had deposited her in what appeared to be a nursery, with baby cribs and a collection of rather sorry-looking toys and weathered old books scattered about. At least there was also a small bathroom so Relena could see to her needs. By her estimation, as it was growing dark outside the windows, she had been missing for nearly a full day. And she still had no idea who had taken her, or what they wanted from her.

"Trowa" had simply grunted that he'd deal with her later, and locked her in this room without bothering to restrain her. Perhaps he wasn't worried about her attempting suicide, as the one window had safety bars on it that she couldn't loosen for the life of her. And none of the toys were sharp enough to do any real damage. Of course, Relena didn't want to die, but she didn't necessarily want to stick around and see whatever fate might await her.

She was trying the bars again, just for the hell of it, when the door opened, and the false Trowa stepped inside, his expression steely.

"Trying to escape?" He sounded slightly amused. It was odd, but Relena noticed a slight change in tone. She studied him for a beat as he approached her. Something…was different about him. For one thing, he didn't look half as rumpled as he'd been after their struggle. And maybe it was the fluorescent lighting, but was his suit a different color? A lighter gray, maybe?

Relena looked down at his hands, and gasped. The angry red scratches she'd embedded on the back of his hands were…gone.

She looked back up at his face, and tried to discern any other minor details that might differentiate him from the man she'd faced earlier.

"Relena…" he started, taking a step toward her.

She took a step back. Maybe…maybe he really was Trowa. He had found her. But how could she know for sure? What if there were _dozens _of Trowa clones running around?

"Stay back!" she warned, reaching for the closest object. She would have grabbed one of her shoes again, but the "other" Trowa had taken them. Instead her hands closed around… a teddy bear. Her shoulders slumped in defeat.

To her chagrin, this Trowa started laughing. "Unless that bear has a bomb in it, you'll have to do better than that." His one green eye glimmered with mirth. "Although, to be honest, when I first heard that Heero had given you a teddy bear, I thought maybe it _was_ a bomb…"

Relena set the bear down where she'd found it, staring hard at him. "Trowa…is that really you?"

He put a finger to his lips, and, with his other hand, motioned for her to come toward him. Relena hesitated and stayed where she was.

"I'm not coming anywhere near you," she said sharply.

"All right," he answered her softly, raising both of his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Fair enough. I just don't want to risk us being overheard."

Her heart began to pound faster. "How can I be sure it's really you?"

He smiled wryly at her. "Do you expect someone like Aiden Wardwell to know about Heero and his penchant for bizarre gift-giving?"

Relena flushed. Well. That certainly _sounded_ like the sardonic Trowa she knew. But…

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Who is Aiden Wardwell?"

"The man holding you captive," Trowa said casually. Relena gaped at him.

"You mean... " She looked him up and down. "He's your…twin? Or your clone?"

"I'm not sure, to be honest," Trowa said. "It doesn't particularly matter. I'm here to apprehend him and get you out of here."

Relena peered at him, sensing he was hiding something. But then the Preventers were always hiding something.

"What else?" she pressed him. "He's plotting something, isn't he?"

"Nothing for you to worry about," Trowa said flippantly, turning toward the door. Relena stared at his retreating back.

"Wait, where are you going?!"

"To find Aiden," he said, looking at her over his shoulder. "You'll be safe in here for now. I'll come back for you after I've taken care of him." He placed his hand on the doorknob.

"Wait!" she all but shrieked, rushing over to him, her desperation overriding her sense of self-preservation. "First, I need to be sure it's really you."

Trowa frowned at her, but stayed put. "All right…"

"Give me your hands," Relena instructed, holding out her own. Trowa arched a brow, but complied. Relena took her hands in his, examining them more closely for scratches; there were none. Then she turned each one over and felt his palms.

Calloused. All the way up to his fingertips.

She beamed at him. "It really _is_ you," she breathed.

"Uh…yeah, it is. I could prove it to you further, I'm sure, but…" Trowa's brow creased. He looked somewhat flustered, and Relena couldn't help but find that adorable, despite the strange situation they were in.

"Do you have an extra gun?" she asked him with a smile. He balked at her.

"Yes, but–"

She released his hands but kept hers open, palm up. "Give one to me."

"All right. I suppose it would be better to leave you here armed."

Relena was shocked by how quickly he complied, reaching inside his waistband and handing her a GLOCK pistol. She smiled gratefully at him and tucked the gun inside her skirt.

"Thank you."

"Now," Trowa turned back to the door, "I'll be back soon. Just–"

"Oh, no you don't Barton." Relena splayed her hand on the door, inches from Trowa's face. "I'm going with you."

He huffed a laugh. "No, you're not. It's too dangerous."

"I've had training."

"Not enough."

"I've had more than enough to take Aiden down myself." Relena rolled his eyes. "Wait'll you see what a lousy shot he is."

"Irrelevant," Trowa snipped, sounding annoyingly like Heero. "We don't know how many others are with him."

"And who's to say they won't corner me in here all at once?" Relena retorted.

Trowa's nostrils flared. She could tell she had him.

"At least we could cover for one another," she added.

"All right," he grumbled. "Fine. But you'd better stick close."

She gave him her most reassuring smile. "Of course."

"Stay behind me," he said, then pushed the door open, slowly.

Relena did as she was told, following Trowa out into the darkened hall. Her bare feet made her footfalls nearly silent, and she mimicked Trowa's stance as he crept along. Like Trowa, she withdrew her gun and kept it close to her chest, ready to aim it at a potential attacker.

After a moment, they heard commotion up ahead. It sounded like the heavy front doors were opening, and people were ambling inside. Soon, the halls reverberated with the sound of voices. Trowa braced a hand against Relena and pressed her back against the wall, doing his best to make himself look invisible. She did her best to shrink against the wall as well, praying that no one would surprise them in the hall.

But the sounds were still relatively far away from them, at the other end of the building. Maybe they were all headed to the sanctuary, for some sort of service.

They waited in place for a few more minutes. Eventually, the sound of voices singing began to waft toward them. Relena couldn't quite make out the words, but thought she recognized the tune, so her mind supplied the lyrics.

"_A mighty fortress is our God… A bulwark never failing…"_

No instruments accompanied the voices, but judging from the nursery and the looks of the sanctuary she'd woken up in earlier, the building was in disrepair. It was doubtful the piano or organ were in working order.

However, the sounds of the singing parishioners suggested that church was very much in session.

"_Our helper He, amid the flood...of mortal ills prevailing…"_

Trowa began to move again, so Relena followed him. He stopped and reached up to the ceiling, pushing gingerly until a panel gave way. Relena watched as Trowa pushed it all the way open, then reached up with both hands and lifted himself up.

Inside a vent.

Relena gaped up at him from the floor. "Um…"

He reached for her hand, saying nothing. She could barely make out his facial expression in the near-darkness, but she doubted he was expressing much sympathy for her plight. She had insisted on coming with him, after all.

She reached up and took his hand, and he pulled her clear off the ground, up into the vent with him.

God, he was _strong_.

And then he was army-crawling away from her. At least he was going ahead of her; Relena hadn't anticipated doing this kind of activity in a skirt. Resigning herself to endure this bizarre situation as long as possible, Relena laid down on her stomach and crawled after Trowa.

* * *

The acapella singing was growing louder as Trowa crawled along, Relena shuffling behind him. He stopped when he came to an opening and looked down into the church sanctuary. A small group of people were clustered near the front, holding hymn books and singing. So, some sort of choir rehearsal, maybe?

Based on the intel Trowa had received, tonight's service was going to be a big deal, so there would probably be a lot more people. Whatever this was…they hadn't gotten started yet.

Relena was silent behind him, but Trowa could feel the warmth of another body in such close proximity, and hear her breathing. Otherwise, neither of them made a sound.

And then Trowa heard his own voice speaking. Or, rather, Aiden's. He strained to make out the exact words, but could barely make anything out over the singing. He caught the words "tonight," "virgin" and – most disturbing of all – "sacrifice."

Shit.

Just like that, Trowa shifted his mission objective. All he could think about now was getting Relena out of there; he could come back for Aiden and search for the nuke later. No way could he leave Relena with these barbarians; not for a split second. He was glad, now, that she had insisted on coming with him. At first he worried she would be a liability, but now he felt sick imagining what might have happened to her if he'd left her behind.

He began to shimmy backward, and felt his leg brush against Relena. He hoped he didn't hurt her, but she quickly got the message and began to retreat backward, to where they'd climbed up into the vent. He scanned the hallway below before dropping down as silently as he could. Then he reached for Relena; she leaned down and braced her hands on his shoulders, and he secured her waist, pulling her down until their bodies were flush against each other. Their faces, too, were close for an awkward moment, until they managed to disentangle themselves. But Trowa grabbed Relena's hand and pulled her through an open door as soon as he saw one, shutting and locking the door behind them.

The room was dark, and he didn't dare turn on any lights. Both of them were breathing hard. Trowa worked to still his rapidly beating heart, and pulled Relena to his chest. He heard her suck in a deep, shaky breath as he brought his lips close to her ear.

"I'm going to get you out of here, now," he whispered. "But it's going to be dangerous. You need to stay close to me." He felt her nod, so he continued. "We'll escape out one of these windows. I have a car parked several blocks away; we'll be going on foot. You're going to take that car and drive the hell away from here, as fast as you can. The car has a tracker on it so the others will be able to find you. All right?"

Relena nodded again. Trowa felt her tremble slightly in his grasp, and suddenly, the need to protect her swelled in his chest. He couldn't help holding her a little tighter, wanting to comfort her from this whole ordeal.

"Are you all right?" he whispered. "Did anyone hurt you?"

She shook her head.

"I promise, you'll make it out of here alive."

"What about you?" she whispered into his ear. Her breath was hot on his skin, ticking his neck.

"Don't worry about me; I'll be fine."

"Why aren't you coming with me?"

"I have to come back here and stop Aiden."

"Tell me what he's planning."

"Not now," Trowa whispered harshly. "There isn't time."

"Trowa," she huffed. "I want to help."

She was impossible. He wondered how Heero had put up with her all this time.

"You're not an agent," Trowa argued.

"I don't need to be," she retorted.

"This isn't up for discussion." He broke away from her and strode to the back of the room, to a set of windows that overlooked the church parking lot. None of the windows had bars on them like the ones in the nursery, so Trowa set about opening the one closest to the back of the church, and farthest away from the sanctuary.

Relena lingered behind him, cross with him, no doubt. But her feelings were none of his concern. Her safety wasn't even supposed to be his concern, but he'd found her before finding Aiden and… what was he supposed to do? Leave her as a sitting duck?

He asked himself what Heero would do in this situation, and the answer was obvious.

Trowa opened the window, then wrenched up the storm window behind it. The nighttime breeze wafted in, and even though it was spring in New England, there was ice on the wind. He heard Relena shiver. Without thinking, he shrugged out of the blazer he was wearing – part of his Aiden disguise – and wrapped it around Relena's shoulders. She shook her head and shrugged it off.

"You'll need this more than I will," she whispered.

"Just take it," Trowa hissed.

"We're going to run and it will only slow me down!" she hissed right back at him.

"Fine." Trowa took the jacket back and yanked it back on, his temper flaring. Then again, he didn't know why he was even getting annoyed with her. They were just arguing about stupid semantics in a potentially deadly situation; that was all.

He couldn't let these feelings, annoyance or impatience or whatever, distract him from his current objective. And so he reached for Relena again, and all but shoved her out the window. Normally he would go first, but they were on the first floor so there wasn't much of a drop. And anyway, he just wanted to get her out of that church, once and for all.

Only problem was, the window was narrow, and even for two slim bodies, there wasn't much of an opening.

"Shit," Relena hissed as she tried to wedge herself into the small space. Trowa realized he'd never heard her swear before. "Help," she gritted out.

She wriggled around until her head and torso were out the window, but her…ass was stuck. Trowa took in her shapely backside, for just a split second. He could see right up her short skirt, and in the moonlight, he could make out her lacy thong. It took him aback, but he quickly recovered. He was on a mission, and had no business ogling the person he was trying to protect. Even if her nearly-bare ass was right in his face…

Once again, he found himself asking, "What would Heero do?"

He knew Relena wouldn't like the answer. It wasn't Trowa's place. But she had asked him for help, so…

Trowa placed his hands on her bum and gave her a push, but she was still stuck.

"Trowa," she groaned. And something about her tone of voice – the strain, the desperation – made his body react.

"Shit," he muttered. This was the world's worst timing for–

Light flooded the room, and Trowa froze, his hands still gripping Relena's bottom.

"Well, well, well," his own voice sounded from behind him. "What do we have here?"

* * *

_A/N: Dun dun dunnn... ;)_

_Thank you for reading! If you like this, please leave a review!_

_Hugs!_

_\- RFP _


	4. Chapter 4

Relena's stomach dropped at the sound of Aiden's voice. They were caught. And she was really stuck. How were they going to get out of this?

Since she couldn't see anything that was happening, she could only hope that Aiden was alone, so Trowa could take him down without much of a fight.

Of course, she should have known she could count on the Preventer agent, and former Gundam pilot, to spring into action. Relena heard Aiden's surprised cry at seeing Trowa, identical to him in every way, but from the sounds of it Trowa didn't give Aiden much time to react. She heard brief scuffling sounds, and a crack, and the sound of a body hitting the floor.

"Trowa?" she whimpered, figuring Aiden was the one who had dropped, but wanting to be sure.

"Right here," Trowa answered, and Relena's heart swelled in relief.

"Could you help me down, please?"

She felt his warm, calloused hands on her bum again, which was beyond awkward, but he managed to help her wriggle free enough to get her feet back on the floor. Then he gripped her waist and pulled her out the rest of the way. Relena stood up straight and adjusted her wayward skirt, then turned to face Trowa.

Behind him, Aiden was knocked out cold, his hands behind his back, presumably in cuffs. Relena heaved a deep sigh of relief.

"Thank God," she breathed.

"An apt choice of words." Trowa's eye twinkled. Relena rolled hers.

"Ha-_ha_. Did you enjoy groping me back there?" His face immediately colored, and Relena smirked at him. "Uh-huh. That's what I thought. So, do I get to return the favor?"

Trowa turned his face away. "I'm sorry. I was only trying to help."

"I know, I know…" Relena sidestepped him to get a better look at his unconcious look-alike. She looked from Aiden to Trowa, then back again. "Ugh, this is so creepy."

"Tell me about it."

"So what happens now?"

"We're going to escape as planned. Just…not out the window." Trowa tipped his head to the door. "With Aiden locked in here, you and I will be able to stroll right out of here. Really, this worked out perfectly."

Except for the part where Trowa would be coming back here to do whatever else this mission entailed, without her, Relena thought morosely. Whatever these people were up to… Relena had a bad feeling. She would much prefer they just leave together, and never look back.

"But, Trowa…what if we can't just walk out of here? What if we run into someone? You'll have to explain why we're leaving."

Trowa shrugged. "I'll think of something. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'm their leader, remember?"

He looked much more confident than Relena felt. Trowa reached for the door handle, but Relena seized his hand.

"I think we need to come up with a game plan, just in case," she said, fixing him with her best no-nonsense expression.

Trowa gazed steadily back at her. "All right, well. Considering I know their plans and you don't…"

Relena released his hand, and planted both her hands on her hips. "That's exactly the problem."

Trowa placed his hands on her shoulders, bringing his face close to hers. "Quiet. I'm trying to catch you up."

Relena flushed and lowered her gaze. "Right."

Trowa let go of her and folded his arms over his chest, leaning against the door. "I'll give you the gist. Aiden Wardwell is the leader of a cult. They've been active for the past decade or so."

Relena arched a brow, but didn't interrupt.

"Their activities are usually fairly tame. Animal sacrifices, that sort of thing. But…" Trowa frowned, and Relena got the sense that he was wavering on how much he was planning to divulge. "Aiden…is a sick bastard. We've found a lot on this guy." He shook his head to the side, as if he was trying to clear disturbing thoughts from his mind.

"Anyway," Trowa went on, "tonight's ritual…is a human sacrifice. A virgin."

Relena's eyes widened. "Oh. God."

Trowa raked a hand through his long bangs, and Relena caught a glimpse of the eye that was normally hidden. Both eyes were hooded as his frown deepened. "There was some chatter about this on the dark web, but we didn't know if it was just a rumor. We received an anonymous tip that spelled out a slightly different plan. Regardless…" Trowa tipped his head in her direction. "You can see why I need to get you out of here. And fast."

"I see." Relena thought quickly. "Well, assuming I'm the intended target for this…virgin sacrifice…" She shuddered. "You, as their leader, could just tell them that I'm not a virgin, and therefore no longer suitable. So, you need to leave right away to find another, er, victim."

"Hmm…" Trowa nodded. "That could work."

"Of course it will work," Relena said. "They have to listen to their leader, right? They're just a flock of sheep, and you're their shepherd." She reached over and squeezed his bicep. "It may be our only chance."

"Right. Well, let's just hope no one insists that we have to prove your…status." Trowa's brow creased.

"How would they even go about proving something like _that_?" Relena balked at him.

"We could show them your underwear," Trowa quipped.

Relena rolled her eyes at him. "That proves nothing. And anyway, thongs are very comfortable."

"Sure."

She rolled her eyes again. "Seriously, it's not like they have a gynecologist at the ready, right? And even if they did, a vaginal exam isn't enough to 'prove' one's virginity. I mean, I broke my hymen as a tween while horseback riding…"

Trowa held up a hand. "Didn't need to know that."

"Sorry," Relena said with a shrug. "I didn't realize details like that creeped gay guys out."

Trowa's eyes bulged. "What did you say?"

Relena's face heated. "I'm sorry…did I just out you?" Her hands flew to her mouth as Trowa's face grew more exasperated. "Oh, Trowa, I'm so sorry! Look, if you're not out yet, I swear, I won't tell a soul! I just thought you and Quatre were–"

"We're friends," Trowa said with a cough, his face turning beet red. "I have a lot of guy friends, most of whom you know personally… did you assume they're _all _gay?"

"Um, no… I happen to know that at least three of them aren't," Relena said pointedly. "Duo's married, for crying out loud. And Wufei and Sally…well, everyone knows what's really going on there. And Heero…"

"I already know about you and Heero," Trowa sniped. "Everyone does. So you can spare me the details."

Relena glared icily at him. "Oh, so you think you know everything? Did you know that Heero and I dated for maybe a year, then he dumped me? And that was five years ago, so…" She spun away from him. "Shows how much you know."

She could feel Trowa's gaze on her. "I had no idea he dumped you. I wasn't aware of your current status. I just assumed…"

"Yeah, so we both assumed things." Relena kept her eyes glued to the floor. "I'm sorry I thought you were gay."

A low chuckle rumbled from Trowa's chest. "That's quite all right. I'm not offended. I probably shouldn't be surprised, either. You're not the first who's ever made that assumption, that's for sure. You just…caught me off guard, is all."

"Well, I am sorry." Relena glanced up at him shyly. "But that makes this whole situation all the more awkward."

Trowa frowned at her. "How's that?"

She planted her hips back at her sides. "Oh, I don't know, maybe because you were fondling my ass earlier? Now that I know you're straight, it's more than a little pervy that you basically groped me…"

"I didn't _grope_ you; I was just getting you loose." And then his face grew even redder, somehow.

Relena couldn't help it; she burst out laughing. Trowa pulled her back against his chest, clamping his hand over her mouth.

"Quiet," he hissed in her ear.

Relena went slack in his hold, her eyes glued to Aiden, praying her outburst wouldn't wake him. She and Trowa stayed utterly still for a full minute, waiting… Thankfully, Aiden didn't move a muscle. At last, Trowa released Relena. She inhaled a deep breath.

"A little less manhandling, please," she rasped.

"Sorry," he said, not looking sorry at all. He turned back to the door. "Now, come on. Let's get out of here while we have the chance."

She couldn't argue with that.

At least they had a plan.

Sort of.

* * *

_A/N: Hello, loves! Sorry today's update is short, but there will be more to come in the next few days. Happy early Valentine's! :)_

_\- RFP_


	5. Chapter 5

Well. Trowa had just gotten the information bomb of all information bombs.

Not that he cared about the status of Heero's and Relena's relationship, but he'd been operating under the assumption that they were still together. With the possessive way Heero continued to act toward Relena, the assumption felt warranted.

As for the _other_ information bomb… Relena popping her cherry on horseback?

Yeah, no...he definitely didn't need to know that.

His mind was whirring. All with inconsequential noise. He didn't have time to dwell on any of it.

He pulled Relena alongside him, back down the hallway, toward the back doors. There were no obstacles up ahead. They were almost in the clear.

Almost.

Voices drifted toward them, followed by light footfalls. Quickening his steps, Trowa grasped Relena by the elbow and steered her toward the back doors.

"Father Wardwell!" a high-pitched female voice called after them. Reluctantly, Trowa halted his steps. He felt Relena tense in his hold.

Shit.

He turned and gave the young woman approaching them a placating smile. She had dyed turquoise hair, with blond roots seeping through, and looked to be about the same age as him and Relena; probably in her early to mid-twenties. Yet she was dressed like a grandmother, in a long, outdated floral dress that grazed her ankles.

"Father." She smiled fondly up at Trowa – rather, Aiden – and he thought he detected a knowing twinkle in her eye.

Well, this was a sex cult, so…clearly this was one of Aiden's many disciples. Of course, Trowa had chosen to leave that detail out when he was filling Relena in a few minutes ago. No need to alarm her even further.

"Hello, child," Trowa said placidly, feeling like a creep. But this was how he'd heard Aiden speaking in various videos, and he was doing his best impression. He reached up and stroked the woman's cheek, for good measure; she blushed and lowered her eyes.

Trowa could feel Relena's eyes boring into the back of his skull, but he pressed on with his Aiden act. "Now, what may I do for you, love?"

"Well, Father, I was coming to see if you were ready to have me prepare Miss Peacecraft for the offering." The woman blinked her brown doe eyes up at Trowa. "The other ladies are ready to assist." She angled her head and turned her gaze to Relena. "Hello. My name is Lucy. Lucy Halliwell."

"Hello, Lucy." Relena stepped around from behind Trowa, and reached for Lucy's hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

He could only imagine what Relena must be thinking and feeling, but he gave her credit for keeping her composure.

"If you'll come along with me, we need to get you bathed and ready," Lucy said to Relena.

"Bathed?" Relena's eyes darted to Trowa. "Um… Mr., ah, _Father_ Wardwell, sir. Is that entirely necessary?"

Trowa took a step closer to Lucy, cupping her face in his hands. Her eyes swam up at him.

This was going to be _way_ too easy.

"Well, that's just it, child. You see, I've just discovered that Miss Peacecraft is unfit for tonight's ritual."

He was not expecting the reaction his words elicited.

Lucy gasped, her hands flying to her mouth, and jerked back from him. "What do you mean, unfit?!" she shrieked.

Trowa shook his head, forcing his face into a pained expression. "She was just confessing her sins to me, to…cleanse her heart for the ritual. But alas, her sins are too many, and as you know, a non-virgin's blood will displease our lord."

"But that's impossible!" Lucy cried. And there were actual tears streaming down her face. "My father examined her himself, remember! We know she's a virgin."

"What?!" Relena's eyes bulged, and all the color drained from her face. Trowa felt his stomach drop.

What the…

"When?!" Relena was screeching.

"When you were asleep," Lucy said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "She's lying," she added to Trowa. "She dares lie to you, our Father." Her eyes gleamed. "We should punish her."

Relena was shaking all over. Trowa rested a hand on her shoulder, wondering if a creep like Aiden would do the same. Probably. In Trowa's case, he was trying to comfort her, as best he could.

"What," Relena said through gritted teeth, "did your _father_ do to me while I was unconscious?"

"Relax." Lucy rolled her eyes. "He's a doctor. He gave you a vaginal exam, as Father Wardwell instructed him to. Right, Father?"

Trowa gave a careless shrug, hating himself for it. "We wanted to ensure your cooperation."

"Which was handy, without my consent." Relena was seething; Trowa could feel the anger rolling off of her. He placed both of his hands on her shoulders and gave her a squeeze, trying to communicate to her that he was also enraged on her behalf. And he hated, hated, acting this way toward her.

"My child, we are merely following our lord's instruction. He knows what is best. Do not let your heart be troubled."

Relena's shoulders slumped, but then she straightened up, as if she were trying to reclaim some dignity.

"Now, Lucy." Trowa turned back to the other woman. "I understand the results of the exam, however…what Miss Peacecraft has told me about her carnal experiences is…rather explicit in nature. Therefore I can only conclude that the good doctor was mistaken."

Lucy gasped. "You don't believe my father?"

Trowa tucked his finger under her chin and smiled. "I believe your father tried his best, but clearly Miss Peacecraft gave only the appearance of virginity. When, in fact, her soul is pitch-black, and she must not be welcomed here. I must trust my own intuition on this, as the lord is guiding me." With that, Trowa released Lucy, and turned back toward the door, turning Relena with him. "Now, tell the others that I will return momentarily…"

"But what about the bomb?"

Trowa and Relena froze.

"What bomb?" she mouthed to him.

Trowa focused on keeping his tone nonchalant as he turned back around to face Lucy. "Now, don't you worry your pretty little head over the bomb. I'll handle everything, my child."

Lucy's eyes glimmered. "But…you've told us, over and over, that if we don't sacrifice Relena Peacecraft, specifically, when the clock strikes midnight during the lunar eclipse…then our lord's will is that we will all perish in the Lake of Fire."

The pieces of Aiden's sick plans all snapped into place in Trowa's mind.

"What bomb?" Relena hissed at him.

"We can't just use another virgin," Lucy sighed, "or the ritual won't work. And even if we could, where would we find one? There isn't enough time."

Relena gaped at her. "You mean you don't have any virgins in your, ah, fold?"

Lucy laughed. "Why, heavens, no. Everyone here is one big happy family. Tonight," she added, her dark eyes gleaming, "you were supposed to join our fold. And then…"

"And then," Trowa added caustically, "we sacrifice you to our god and stave off the apocalypse."

Relena gaped at him. "Interesting," she spat. "And why me, exactly?"

"Why, because you're a Peacecraft," Lucy answered, as if the answer were obvious. Relena arched a brow, and Lucy gaped at her. "You mean you don't know?!"

"Know what?" Relena frowned.

"Father, tell her!" Lucy cried.

Shit. Trowa tried to think of all the crazy conspiracy theories he'd heard about the Peacecrafts over the years. There were plenty, but nothing that had to do with a full moon, lunar eclipse ritual sacrifice, or…

No, wait. Of course.

"Why, the Peacecraft family is a known witch bloodline," Trowa said. Lucy nodded enthusiastically, then elaborated, to Trowa's relief.

"Your great-grandmother, Sabrina, and great-aunt, Katrina, were two powerful witches, their powers amplified by their twin status," Lucy breathed. Relena's eyes widened, but she stood listening intently. "Of course, Sabrina birthed your grandmother, who birthed your father, but due to your family's close connection to the Dark Lord…"

"Satan," Trowa supplied.

"Your father…is the son of Lucifer," Lucy whispered, her voice quivering. She jabbed a finger at Relena. "Making you…the daughter of the Antichrist."

Okay. So of all the conspiracies Trowa had ever heard…this one had to take the cake.

He glanced at Relena, and saw that she was biting her lower lip, like she was trying to keep from laughing. She caught his eye and squared her shoulders.

"Lucy…" she said, composing herself. "I can assure you, my great-grandmother and great-aunt were not witches; and my father was _certainly_ not the Antichrist."

"But, Father…" Lucy grasped Trowa's arm, looking up at him pleadingly. "You received visions from our lord, revealing all of this to be true! Tell her!"

"Yes, that is true," Trowa nodded gravely. "However, the lord in his infinite wisdom has brought new revelations to light, and…"

"Such as?"

Trowa jerked his head up at the sound of more footsteps. A group of four men were approaching, and they were all much bigger than him. He was armed, but sufficiently outnumbered. At least he and Relena were both armed, in case things really went south…

"Father Wardwell was just explaining that Miss Peacecraft is unfit for tonight's ritual," Lucy informed the men, all of whom were wearing suits similar to Aiden's. All four of them looked Relena up and down in a way that made Trowa want to pummel them. He could only imagine what Heero would do to them if he were here instead.

"If she is unfit, then the ritual must not proceed," one of the men, who had to be double Trowa's size, turned to him.

"We must go ahead and activate the bomb," said another. "Why keep our lord waiting?"

"What bomb?" Relena interjected. All eyes swung to her.

"The bomb that our lord instructed Father Wardwell to obtain," one of the men answered. "When we detonate it, we will be enacting his will."

Another one of the men stepped forward, leering at Relena. "Your blood was supposed to save us from the Lake of Fire, but apparently your soul is too black to spare us from our lord's wrath."

He reached for her blouse and dragged her forward. Relena tried to squirm away from him. Trowa laid a hand on the man's shoulder, wanting to drop him like he'd dropped Aiden.

"Not now, son. Violence is never the answer."

Ironic, coming from a guy that was planning a ritual sacrifice and mass murder. But the other man listened to him, releasing Relena, although he still had a murderous look in his eye.

"The lord will decide Miss Peacecraft's fate," Trowa said. "For now, I must…go to our lord in prayer, and ask him to direct our next steps."

The others murmured to themselves, looking defeated, but nodded at Trowa. "Go to the sanctuary, children." He waved a hand at them. "Await my direction."

The small group dispersed, leaving Trowa and Relena alone once again.

"This is terrible," she murmured once the others were out of earshot. "Now what are we going to do?"

"Proceed with our plan," said Trowa. "I'm getting you out of here right now, while the coast is clear." He pushed Relena gently toward the door.

"But what about the bomb? Do you think they really have one?"

"I'll find out when I get back," he said, "after I get you to safety." He gave her another gentle shove in the back. "Now, go. Get your ass out the door."

"Is it just me, or are you a little hyper-focused on my ass?" she quipped.

"Relena, we don't have time for this." Trowa jerked the door open and shut it tightly behind them, dragging Relena out into the frigid night.

She continued to fight him as they descended the short flight of stairs. "So, what then? You're just going to come back here, all by yourself, to look for a bomb? And do what?"

"Disable it," Trowa gritted out, dragging Relena by the arm, down the stairs and into the dark parking lot. Which, to his chagrin, had started to fill up with cars. Witnesses.

"All by yourself," she prodded.

"I'm a demolition expert, so yes."

"But Trowa–"

"I'll radio for backup shortly," he hissed, pulling her toward the trees. "Now, we have to hurry or–"

"Father Wardwell!"

A chorus of voices was calling out to him. Trowa waved a hand without turning around. "Welcome, my children. I will be with you all momentarily…"

"This plan is falling apart," Relena whispered. "You can't just run off with me now."

"Then fight me off and run away," Trowa hissed.

"That won't work either," Relena said. "Aiden had a gun. What if other people do, too? We're outnumbered. And these people are _crazy_. If they have a bomb, someone could detonate it at any time…"

She was right. Trowa was at a loss.

He had to think of a new plan, fast. He was a goddamned Gundam pilot and Preventer. How could he have let everything go to hell so quickly?

"Our best bet," Relena hissed, "is for you to keep being Aiden. That way you can make sure no one will do anything to me. And at some point, you'll find the bomb and do what you need to do." She fixed him with an icy glare, which ensnared him under the bright light of the full moon. "_After _you call for backup. Understood?"

Well, shit. Who was in charge of this mission, now?

"All right." Trowa agreed. Because the rest of his "flock" was closing in, and they were out of time. Before turning back around to greet them as Aiden, he pressed his lips to Relena's ear. "Same as before… stick close to me. I'm not letting any of these sickos touch you."

Relena turned and batted her eyes up at him. "Yes, Father Wardwell," she said in a high, childlike voice. As if she'd been brainwashed...and was under his command.

Well. Apparently, she also possessed some acting skills. That could only work to their advantage.

Because with their only plan unraveling minute by minute… it seemed they were both going to have to give the performance of their lives.

* * *

_A/N: The plot thickens! I hope you enjoyed this latest installment. Thank you to everyone who has been following and reviewing, and giving kudos over on AO3! So how do you think Trowa and Relena are gonna get out of this mess? I'd love to know your thoughts and predictions, so please share! _

_Hugs!_

_\- RFP_


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Warning! This chapter is STEAMY, and it's only gonna get steamier, so... buckle up! lol_

_\- RFP_

* * *

Relena allowed Lucy to lead her to a ladies' restroom that looked like a small locker room, except there weren't any lockers. There were, however, a few toilet stalls, and a lone shower stall, off in a corner. It was tiled but didn't have a door or curtain.

Great. So she was apparently expected to shower in front of an audience.

Relena wondered how she was going to get out of this, when there was a trio of women standing around… stark naked. All looking at her expectantly, almost reverently.

Lucy smiled and steered Relena over to them. "Your handmaidens await you, my lady."

Relena gaped at Lucy. What century did these women think they were in? Although with their neon hair, all dyed like Lucy's, they certainly didn't fit the old-fashioned cult stereotype…

"Why do you all have dyed hair?" Relena found herself asking.

"It's part of our initiation," one of the women explained, running her hands through her long ultraviolet hair.

"We're going to dye your hair as well," another woman, with vivid orange hair, told Relena.

"Oh. Fun." So much for Relena's expensive balayage… "Do I get to pick the color?"

Lucy smiled and combed her fingers through Relena's hair. "We've already selected a lovely rose gold for you. Doesn't that sound pretty?"

No. No, it did not. She was a public figure, for heaven's sake. She could _not_ be seen with pink hair.

"Sounds lovely," Relena said with a slight whimper. She watched helplessly as the purple-haired woman withdrew a box of cheap hair dye from a grocery store bag, along with bottles of body wash, shampoo and conditioner and a neon pink razor. Relena balked at that.

"I don't need to shave," she said vehemently.

Lucy looked disappointed. "But you must. Father Wardwell insists that we all shave."

_Ew, ew, ew. _Relena didn't even want to know why.

"I don't have to," Relena insisted. "I wax."

"Ahh…" the women all murmured, looking fascinated. Thankfully, the purple-haired woman put the razor back in the bag.

But then Lucy stripped off her dress, revealing that she wore nothing underneath. And indeed, her pubic area was shaved, like all the other women. Relena flushed and turned her face away. She hadn't been naked around other girls since high school, and that was only ever in the locker room. And the vibe back then was far different; everyone kept to themselves. This whole situation was far too intimate for her liking…

The awkwardness only amplified when all four women crowded her, pulling at her clothes.

"I can undress myself," Relena snapped, trying to push them away.

"Why, when you don't have to?" A woman with bright red hair purred.

They were all pawing at her. Relena still had her gun, tucked into her skirt, but she didn't particularly want to shoot any of them. Unless they got fresh with her…then, it would be very tempting. But her gun was quickly discovered, and ripped away from her.

"My, my. Where did you get this?" Lucy twirled the gun around on one finger. Relena's heart thudded.

Shit. She could _not_ let this crazy blue-haired lady have a gun. But it was too late.

"Father Wardwell gave it to me," Relena said, jutting her chin out. "Just ask him."

Lucy frowned. "But why?"

"I don't know." Relena shrugged, doing her best to look wide-eyed and innocent.

Lucy looked baffled, but set the gun down carefully, on the edge of a nearby sink. "I'll ask him about this later. For now, we have to prepare you for the ritual."

The other women chorused their agreement, and resumed pawing at Relena's clothes. This time she didn't bother fending them off. She needed to keep them distracted while Trowa searched the building for a bomb. If she had to sacrifice her dignity in the meantime, then it couldn't be helped. At least, she told herself, this was happening with women instead of men. They weren't about to rape her.

She hoped.

She stood helplessly as four sets of hands worked together to pull her silk blouse over her head, unzip and yank down her skirt, then remove her lingerie. There was some excited murmuring over her thong. And then they all steered her into the shower stall.

Relena doubted the water had been turned on in a long time; the pipes were probably all rusted. She braced herself for dark, foul-smelling water. But to her surprise, other than a slight sulfur smell, the water came out clear.

Unfortunately, it was ice-cold.

The women shoved her under the stream, and Relena cried out as the water drenched her, head to toe. She immediately started shivering, but the other women surrounded her. And then Lucy started working the pink dye into her hair while the other three ran their hands all over her. It was violating, but...at least they were helping to keep her warm, Relena thought. She squeezed her eyes shut and pretended she was getting a massage. When a hand drifted toward her vagina, though, she slapped it away.

"_I'm not letting any of these sickos touch you,"_ Trowa had promised her. Well, so much for that.

Lucy rinsed the dye out and then started washing Relena's hair. Relena had to admit, having her hair washed felt...nice. At the same time, the other women worked together to massage the body wash into her skin. That also felt good, as long as they stayed away from her private parts.

Relena was starting to feel like she did when she was Queen. There were worse things than being waited on hand and foot… For a moment, she allowed her mind to drift, pretending she was in her family's palace, and she was being pampered.

If Heero knew what she was thinking, she'd never hear the end of it. He'd always been able to keep her spoiled nature in check. Not that she was _that _spoiled; only comparatively. In this case, Relena decided that she was allowed to let herself feel pampered. After all, she had to do something to make this experience more pleasant than traumatizing...

And anyway, Trowa was still off somewhere, looking for a bomb. So Relena was determined to stay in that shower stall for as long as possible, and keep these crazy women busy.

"That feels _sooo_ good," she moaned, throwing her head back for effect. The other women purred in delight.

Unfortunately, Relena's response to their ministrations only seemed to encourage them to take things to the next level. Behind her, Lucy pushed Relena's wet hair over her shoulder, and started kissing the nape of her neck. The red-haired woman squeezed Relena's ass, while the purple-haired one went from massaging Relena's breasts to thumbing her nipples. And when the orange-haired woman dipped her hand between Relena's thighs, this time, Relena didn't try to stop her.

Relena wasn't into girls. She never had been. And yet...this was happening. She tried to focus on the pleasurable sensations elicited by the mere act of having four sets of hands working her at once. She tried to think of them as merely hands, and not of the women attached to them. Although the fact that they were women meant their hands were extremely soft. So different from the rough male hands that had touched her in the past…including Heero's.

At the thought of Heero, Relena felt that old flame stoke inside her. She couldn't help it; she was still attracted to him, long after they'd gone their separate ways. Truth be told, they'd never fully severed their ties, and still continued to sleep together on occasion. She remembered the last time they'd showered together, and pretended he was with her now, and a thrumming pressure began to build inside her center…

And _Trowa_…wait, why was he popping into her head? She'd never fantasized about him before. It was probably because he was the last male she'd been in close proximity to, she told herself. She couldn't help but recall the way he'd cupped her ass earlier, even if it had been for mere survival purposes…still. She had to admit, it was kind of hot. _He_ was hot. When Lucy was looking at him in the hallway earlier, it was as if she worshipped the mere ground he walked on. Which she probably did, along with the rest of his disciples. _Aiden's _disciples. Relena had to wonder what on Earth was so magnanimous about this man that people seemed willing to do anything for him…even blow themselves to kingdom come.

Then again, looking at Trowa, she could understand. He definitely possessed a raw sort of magnetism, similar to Heero's. It must have been the mystique of being a Gundam pilot. Although Relena had never felt that attraction toward any of the other pilots...what _was_ it about those two?

Oh, well. They were gorgeous; that was enough for Relena to focus on for now. And so she let the two handsome Gundam pilots fill her thoughts, and imagined they were _both_ in the shower with her. Of course, this was a ridiculous scenario that would _never _happen – Heero would kill another male before he would ever share Relena with anyone – but, oh, it was a lovely, lovely thought...

Relena could easily ride that thought all the way to Pleasuretown…but then all four women halted their ministrations, all at once.

"That's enough," Lucy said with a laugh, squeezing Relena's shoulders. "Save your vigor for our Father."

"What do you mean?" Relena whirled on her.

"Why, for the ritual," the red-haired woman spoke up.

Relena frowned. "Praytell, what is our 'Father' going to do?" The other women tittered, looking at her as if she were quite stupid. "Tell me," Relena pressed them.

"He hasn't told you?" Lucy asked, and Relena shook her head. "Why, he's going to accept your virginity as a sacrifice. Although…" She tipped her turquoise head to the side. "In your case, not 'literal' virginity."

Relena's chest constricted. "What does that entail?"

"Penetration, of course," the orange-haired woman said, smirking at her.

Relena's eyes bugged.

Um, no. That definitely wasn't happening.

But then, she'd just let four strange women fondle her in the shower. At least Trowa was someone she actually knew…

_No. _She forced her thoughts to halt right there. She knew him, sure. That didn't mean she should have _sex _with him, just to fool these people.

And anyway, he was working right now to find the bomb that may or may not be hidden in the church. With any luck, they would be far away from there, soon enough. Relena just had to continue to keep these people distracted.

But the preparation time seemed to be swiftly coming to an end. Someone turned off the shower, and Lucy retrieved a towel, returning to dry Relena off. Relena's mind raced, trying to think of more ways to stall these women…

"I haven't been penetrated in a while," she said, doing her best to sound nervous; although given the circumstances, she didn't have to try all that hard. "Could…one of you warm me up for our Father?"

This was totally gross, but totally necessary, she told herself.

The orange-haired woman smiled slyly at her. "With pleasure," she said, and spread Relena's thighs apart with one hand, then slid one of her digits inside Relena's wet folds…

Relena closed her eyes and allowed the mind-numbing pressure to build back inside of her as the woman stroked her insides.

She only hoped she was buying Trowa enough time…


	7. Chapter 7

Trowa's heart was racing.

There was a bomb, all right. It was an ADM, a nuclear land mine; not a W80 warhead, but still deadly. It was an older weapon, a W54, but would still pack a punch. It likely contained a good 10 tons of TNT.

Trowa found the bomb in a classroom in the basement of the church. Aiden hadn't even bothered trying to hide it, but then he probably hadn't anticipated getting caught; an amateur move, if Trowa had ever seen one.

The bomb was being guarded, however, by a man Trowa recognized from Preventer intel, who went by the name Timothy Watson. So "Aiden" and "Tim" had a nice little chat, and Tim confirmed that everything was good to go.

Great.

Trowa left the room and absconded himself in another classroom down the hall, where he finally contacted the Preventers and quickly relayed everything he'd learned so far. Commander Gold commended him, and assured him that backup would be arriving shortly. But Trowa still needed time to disable the bomb, and once he revealed that Relena was at the mercy of the women he'd left her with, Agent Alpha made his presence known.

"You did _what_?" Heero seethed over the line.

"I didn't have a choice," Trowa started, but Heero interrupted him.

"You _always_ have a choice," Heero growled.

"Agent Alpha, stand down, please," Commander Gold said, her voice thick with irritation. "Agent Gamma is commanding this mission." The line went silent for a beat before Une spoke again. "Agent Gamma, how much time do you need?"

Trowa needed enough time to disable the bomb. But first, he would have to knock out Tim so he could barricade himself in the room. That shouldn't take long at all, but as for the rest… Trowa wouldn't know until he could take a closer look at the weapon.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. "An hour, maybe?"

Heero swore. Une reprimanded him again.

"Agent Beta here. Can I be of any service?" Duo piped up.

Trowa drew in a hesitant breath. Duo was good with bombs...not as good as he was, or even Heero. But if Trowa had to decide between the two of them, he would rather tag team this mission with Duo. Heero was far more likely to become unhinged, simply because Relena was involved.

"Affirmative," Trowa said. "You'll have to come in disguise, though. Pretend to be one of my disciples."

Duo chortled. "Roger that. This is gonna be kinda fun. I mean, who hasn't wanted to join a sex cult, am I right?"

"If either of you touch Relena…" Heero trailed off, letting his threat hang between them. Trowa rolled his eyes even though no one could see him.

"No one can do anything to her, unless _I_ allow it," Trowa said, somewhat haughtily. Heero snarled at that. "Anyway," Trowa added, "I don't get what you're bitching about. I'm not the one who's supposed to rescue her; you are. And you can't do that until we take care of this goddamn bomb."

Heero growled something at him, but the connection crackled. Une's voice came through next.

"That's enough," the commander sighed. "Agent Gamma, be on the lookout for Agent Beta. Over and out."

Trowa signed off as well, then hightailed it back upstairs to find Relena. He had told Duo where to find Tim and the bomb, and would let the other agent take it from there. At the moment, Heero's threatening voice echoed in Trowa's mind. Not that Trowa was about to kowtow to anyone; however, he certainly didn't want anything bad happening to Relena on his watch.

He made it back to the upstairs hallway, where he found Relena being escorted by four women, including Lucy, toward the sanctuary. Like Lucy, the other three women were sporting neon-colored hair and frumpy floral dresses. And now Relena's hair was dyed, too, only hers was a light shade of pink. And she was now barefoot and wearing a simple white shift. Seeing the Foreign Minister like that was startling, to say the least.

Trowa approached the women, and Relena's eyes lit up.

"Hello, Fatherrrrr," she slurred. Trowa arched a brow.

"What happened here?" he asked smoothly.

"We gave her some of the communion wine, to calm her before the ceremony," Lucy said. "Like you told us to."

"Right." Trowa patted Lucy on the shoulder. "Well done, child. And is she ready for the, ah, ritual?"

"Absolutely." Lucy's eyes glimmered. "Oh, she's wonderful, Father. You're going to enjoy her."

Trowa's chest constricted, but he nodded. "I'm sure that I will."

Relena said nothing to this, just smiled dopily up at Trowa. She was acting almost…giddy. It scared him, a little. He prayed that she was faking and wasn't actually inebriated, or that could complicate things. Protecting her during this mission had proven challenging enough, without throwing intoxication into the mix.

A red-haired woman approached, holding out a white robe to Trowa. "Here, Father." She thrust the robe into his hands.

Trowa frowned. "What's this?"

"Why, your robe, to wear in the baptismal, of course." The woman laughed lightly. "You wouldn't want to get your suit all wet, would you?"

"Why, of course not." Trowa chuckled. "I was only kidding."

Lucy said a hand on his arm and smiled seductively. "Would you like help undressing, Father?"

Would he. But now was hardly the time or place. He needed to keep these freaks far away from him and Relena, as much as possible.

"No, that's quite all right, child. But thank you for offering," he said warmly.

Lucy looked disappointed, her lower lip jutting out in a pout. Two of the other women sighed, their shoulders sagging.

"He's saving himself for the ritual," a woman with purple hair said. "We can't blame our Father for that."

"Right," Lucy sighed, straightening her shoulders. "See you in the sanctuary, then."

"Of course, my child. Now go and prepare your hearts for worship."

Trowa waited until the quartet of women disappeared down the other end of the hallway before he gripped Relena's shoulders, and brought his face down to hers.

"Are you all right? What the hell happened to you?"

"I'm fine," Relena sighed.

"So you're not drunk, then." Trowa heaved his own sigh of relief.

"No, just slightly traumatized." Relena's eyes were hooded. Instinctively, Trowa reached up and brushed back a lock of her now-pink hair.

"Did they hurt you?" he murmured.

"Not exactly," Relena grumbled, keeping her eyes downcast.

He frowned and tipped her chin up with his index finger. "Are you sure about that?"

At last she made eye contact with him. Her mouth dropped open, but she didn't say anything.

"Relena…" he prodded her, still holding her in place.

"I'd rather not talk about it right now," she said, her eyes tightening, indicating that the discussion was closed.

"All right." Trowa released her, but remained close. "Whatever it was… I'm sorry that I left you behind. Perhaps I should have kept you with me, after all."

Relena shook her head, her face taking on a vacant expression. "No…we did what we had to do in the moment. It's not like we had much time to plan otherwise." She sighed again, then looked squarely up at Trowa. "So. Did you find it?"

"Yes," he said, and her entire expression shifted, relief washing over her features. She gasped and threw her arms around his neck. Trowa wasn't sure what to do about that, so he just returned her embrace, patting her back awkwardly.

"So we can get out of here, then?" she whispered, squeezing his shoulders. Trowa squeezed her back.

"Not just yet. Reinforcements are on the way. The…bomb still needs to be disabled." He felt Relena sag against him. He gave her another squeeze. "Don't worry. We just need to keep them distracted a little while longer."

"How much longer?"

"An hour, tops."

Relena groaned and pushed back to look at him. "Trowa...you know what this 'ritual' entails. Don't you?"

He grimaced and nodded. He'd gleaned enough from researching Aiden to know what was coming next. But Relena told him anyway.

"So they're going to sing some songs, and then you're supposed to baptize me. And then oil me up and…" She paused, and shuddered. "And have sex with me. In front of everyone."

Trowa shook his head rapidly. "That's not happening. Don't worry about it."

Relena arched a brow. "Then what are we going to do instead? Lock ourselves in a room and whip these sex-crazed maniacs into a frenzy? What if they all have weapons, and they find us? Or worse...what if they detonate the bomb before backup gets here?"

Trowa's head spun along with Relena's rapidfire words. "What...are you suggesting?"

She reached over and gripped his bicep. "Let's just put on a show."

His heart pounded. "You mean fake our way through it?"

Relena huffed. "No, Trowa. We can't fake it. These people have sex all the time; they'll see right through us."

Trowa exhaled through his nostrils. "Relena… I'm not about to fuck you in front of an audience."

She batted her eyes at him. "Why not? I thought you liked me?"

Trowa gaped at her. "Are you saying you want me to?" His heart began to beat faster. Where the hell was this coming from?

Relena let out another huff and crossed her arms over her chest. "Look, Trowa, I'm not saying I'm thrilled about this turn of events, but I just let four women fool around with me in the shower. And I'm the farthest thing from a lesbian."

Trowa's eyes bulged as he let her words sink in. "Relena…"

"If I had my choice, I'd much rather have sex with someone I know– preferably a male someone. So, in my mind, I've already gotten through the worst of this initiation." Her eyes flared. "How much worse could it get?"

Trowa sighed. "Are you forgetting the part where I slit your throat, after I fuck you?" Relena gasped, and he nodded. "Yeah… I'm guessing no one told you about that."

Relena rubbed her neck. "No, they hadn't mentioned it."

Trowa clutched her other hand in his. "I promise, I won't let anything else happen to you."

"You said that earlier," she mumbled. Trowa instantly felt guilt wash over him.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I didn't know the _women _would accost you, for chrissake." He gripped her hand more tightly. "Please. If there's anything I can do…"

"There is." Relena gazed up at him steadily, a rock of composure. "Have sex with me."

Trowa's heart began to pound again. "But—"

She shook her head. "No buts. Although I know you like them."

He scoffed and turned his head to the side. "You can't be serious."

"I am." She placed both her hands on his shoulders, forcing him to look at her. "You'd better do it before someone else tries to. All right? I'm counting on you, Trowa."

He drew in a shaky breath. "I've never done anything like this."

"Oh, come on; don't tell me you're actually gay, after all this."

Trowa gaped at her. "No. I mean, I've never...done it in front of an audience." Let alone a room full of people. Not just a room, either.

A church.

For fuck's sake.

"Neither have I," Relena said, "but I've already done more today than I ever thought I would." She shook her head rapidly, as if she were trying to shake off her previous encounter. Sure enough, she added, "I would really like to scrub everything that happened earlier from my mind, all right? This is the best way to do that."

Trowa arched a brow. "You're sure about that?"

"Yes." Relena looked imploringly up at him, her blue eyes wide and luminous. "Distract me, please," she murmured. Automatically, Trowa's gaze fell to her lips. She was breathtakingly beautiful; it definitely wasn't the first time he'd noticed, but of course he'd never thought to do anything about it.

Until now.

The way she was looking at him… how could he deny her?

"Trowa, please," she whispered, her eyes filling. "I need you."

He was done for.

Before he could stop himself, he pulled her close to his chest, and slanted his mouth over hers. She tasted like wine, and a sweet taste that had to be entirely her. And as Trowa kissed her, he couldn't help wondering what the rest of her tasted like.

Perhaps he was about to find out.

Relena responded immediately to his kiss, winding her arms around his neck, clutching him tightly. She kissed him wildly, desperately, pulling at the hair gathered at the nape of his neck.

She was intoxicating.

Surprising himself, Trowa took control and pushed Relena up against the wall, thrusting his tongue into her mouth. Her tongue responded instantly, swirling with his. Trowa hoisted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his torso. He pressed himself up against her, and he could feel her body through the thin fabric of her shift. He palmed one of her breasts over the fabric, and felt her nipple hardening against his hand.

It was gratifying to have evidence in hand – quite literally – that she wanted him. Something Trowa had never even registered as possible, knowing who she'd been with in the past...knowing _he_ obviously wasn't over her. But Trowa wasn't going to dwell on Relena's ex and let it ruin his own arousal. Because now, his own need for Relena was obvious. There was no hiding it; pressed up against each other like that, she was sure to feel every inch of his desire for her...

Panting, Relena broke their kiss, but she was still wrapped in Trowa's embrace. "See?" she breathed. "I knew you had it in you." She patted his shoulders. "Now, just do the same thing out there."

Trowa frowned and set her back on her feet. "Why do I suddenly feel like the cabana boy?"

Relena laughed and tugged on his tie. "You kind of are. But at least it's better than being a ritual sacrifice. If anything, I'm the one who drew the short straw here."

Trowa's frown deepened. "It's anything but short. Don't you worry."

Relena grinned up at him. "Ah…so _that's_ why they worship you."

Trowa rolled his eyes. "Come on. Let's go get this over with."

"Get it over with?" Relena gasped. "I don't think so. We have a whole hour to fill. You can last at least that long, can't you?"

"Sure. But under duress?" Trowa loosed a sigh. "I'll do my best not to disappoint you."

But were they actually going through with this?

Relena tugged on his tie again. "Come on, now. Get undressed. Into that robe thingy."

Apparently they were.

* * *

_A/N: More to come! ;)_

_\- RFP_


	8. Chapter 8

For the second time that day, Relena found herself being plunged into icy water.

But this time, Trowa was the one doing it. At least he was in the water with her, so she knew he was suffering just as much. She had already taken one for the team; it was time for him to get in this mess with her.

And so Relena played the part of a heathen being converted, as Trowa dunked her in the water, three infuriating times, baptizing her in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. She gagged and gasped for air each time he brought her up, only to submerge her again. But it was over in a few minutes.

Then the congregation watched expectantly as Trowa led Relena out of the baptismal, onto the stage, over to an altar in the form of a stone table. On it was a bronze pitcher, filled with liquid that gleamed golden in the dim light from hundreds of candles glimmering all around the sanctuary, illuminating the space in an eerie glow. Trowa picked up the pitcher and carried it over to Relena, and she caught a whiff of what smelled like essential oils.

This wasn't so bad. It would be like getting a massage. So she told herself.

Her heart pounded as Trowa stepped nearer, his soaked white robe leaving practically nothing to the imagination. Of course, she had already caught a glimpse of him when he was changing earlier, although he'd done his best to be modest. Which was a laugh, considering the situation. And anyway, her own white garment was soaked, and it was freezing in there, which her stiff nipples were making extremely obvious to anyone who was looking.

Which was, well, everyone.

Relena had looked only briefly at the crowd of parishioners when she'd first walked into the sanctuary with Trowa, entering from the side of the pulpit and going straight to the baptismal without having to run into anyone else, blessedly. The sanctuary was surprisingly full, of men and women, mostly in their twenties and thirties, some a little older. And they were all wearing nearly identical outfits; the men all had suits and ties; the women, frumpy patterned dresses. They certainly looked the part of cultists.

And she and Trowa had their rapt attention, which was exactly what they wanted. By now, they could only hope that Duo was in place, working to disable the bomb. Relena and Trowa just had to play the part until midnight, and according to the clock hanging on the back wall, they had another 45 minutes to kill.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much of the ceremony left to go. The parishioners had already sung a few acapella hymns at the beginning of the service. Then Trowa had rattled on some apocalyptic nonsense for several minutes, until it was clear the crowd was getting restless. Then Lucy scampered over from her seat and hissed that they needed to start the baptism, and Trowa had reluctantly complied.

Now, they'd come to the part where he was supposed to anoint her with the oil. His eyes were downcast, and she urged him to look at her. She wished they could engage in some silent communication, the way she and Heero had always seemed able to do. But Trowa wasn't looking at her; he was staring down at the pitcher in hand, and she could have sworn he looked flustered.

Thinking about what he was supposed to do with that oil, probably.

His hands faltered, sloshing some of the oil over the spout of the pitcher and onto the carpeted stage floor. Relena willed him to look her in the eye. At last, he looked up and met her gaze.

_It's okay, _she urged him. _You can do this._

He sucked in a breath and dipped his fingers into the pitcher, then smeared oil onto Relena's forehead.

"My child, I anoint thee…" His brow furrowed, as if he forgot what else he was supposed to say. Relena suppressed a giggle. "...in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit," he added. Relena had a feeling that was not how that little blessing was supposed to go.

She was right.

"May the Lord bless you and keep you…" Lucy prompted from the sidelines. Trowa shot her a smile.

"Right. May the Lord bless you and keep you, and make His face shine upon you…" Trowa sped through the rest of the verse, and Relena was impressed. He'd sure memorized a lot to play this part. She wondered how long he'd been preparing to masquerade as Aiden. So far, he was giving one hell of a performance. She almost believed he really was a preacher.

Trowa set the pitcher back down on the table, and took Relena's hand in his, turning her toward the crowd. "My children, please join me in welcoming your new sister to the fold."

The parishioners gawped up at them both, utterly silent.

"Father," Lucy hissed, "what about the ritual?"

Trowa tipped his head to the side and answered her. "The lord hath spoken to me and assured me, he is pleased with Sister Peacecraft's absolution of her sins. There is no need to proceed with—"

"But if you don't copulate before midnight, the lord will enact his judgement!" A man cried from the back of the room.

"She's bewitched him!" A woman hissed from another pew.

"Seize the witch before she enchants us all!"

The crowd's murmuring grew louder, and several people launched out of their seats, surrounding the pulpit area. Trowa stepped back, taking Relena by the elbow.

"Great," she whispered, "now the horde is closing in. You'd better act, now…"

"Children, please." Trowa help up both hands. "We will…enact part of the ritual, thus pleasing the lord. There is no need for any further alarm."

The anxious parishioners settled back in their pews, murmuring to one another. Relena wondered if Trowa's words would be enough to keep them calm for the time being. Trowa shot her a sidelong glance, and Relena wished she could know what he was thinking. At the same time, she wasn't keen to wait around to see what these people might do if they continued to keep them waiting.

It was time to take matters into her own hands.

Relena fell to her knees, making herself prostate at Trowa's feet. "Father, forgive me, for I have sinned! I beseech you...show me your infinite mercy, though I am most undeserving! I humble myself before you and ask that you will use me as you see fit! Oh, Father, I am your vessel!"

Relena continued to howl her "confession" for several minutes, dying to see Trowa's expression, wondering if this would be enough to make him break. After she finished her little monologue, she glanced up to see him gazing down at her, completely expressionless.

"You are forgiven, child," Trowa said, tucking his hand under her chin and raising Relena to her feet.

"Thank you, Father," she breathed, clutching his hand in hers. "I throw myself upon your mercy and lovingkindness." She pressed his palm to her breast. Trowa sucked in a breath.

The crowd grew restless again.

"Cleanse the witch from her sins with thy holy essence!" someone cried.

"Take her sacrifice in the name of our lord!"

They began shouting more nonsensical things, but from what Relena could hear, their demands were growing more and more obscene.

"Children, please." Trowa helped up his hands, trying to quell the frenzy. "I assure you, I will initiate your sister."

Relena batted her eyes at him. "Does that mean I get to call you… Daddy?"

She saw his eyes widen, but he immediately recovered his facial features. "Right. On with the initiation."

The crowd burst into applause and cheers. Relena had honestly never seen anything like this. And then Trowa leaned close to her and whispered, "Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely," she breathed. "And I expect you to really sell it."

He huffed a breath. "Fine. I apologize in advance."

Relena wondered what he meant by that, but there wasn't much time to worry about it.

Because Trowa was walking back over to the altar, the crowd was going wild, and this was about to go down…


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Hello loves! Apparently the last chapter wasn't steamy enough? Well, I hope this one makes up for it... ;)_

_Buckle up!_

_\- RFP_

* * *

Normally, Trowa prided himself on being able to stay cool under fire. But this was almost too much.

He wasn't in the middle of a circus ring, and there weren't any spotlights glaring at him, and yet he felt pressure and performance anxiety like he had never known.

Because never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine he would be having sex with the former Queen of the World. In a church, of all places. With an eager audience.

It was definitely going to be the performance of his lifetime. It would have to be.

On the one hand, he needed to keep this crowd from tearing them apart. The last thing he needed was for them to figure out that he wasn't really Aiden, or that he and Relena were in cahoots. Above all, he needed to keep her safe.

She had assured him this was the only way to do it.

By...doing it.

And it was more than the restless crowd making him nervous; it was Relena herself. She was gorgeous, even in the shapeless sack she wore, and the kiss they'd shared in the hallway had only made her all the more intimidating to him. She was the former Queen, after all. On top of everything else, Trowa couldn't bear the thought of disappointing her. Especially knowing who her ex-boyfriend was…

The pressure was mounting inside of him, and yet as Trowa looked at Relena in her see-through shift, he couldn't help but feel another pressure altogether, building in his loins. On a very basic, primal level, he wanted her. Pure and simple.

And she'd made it clear that she wanted him. Whether there was anything more to it than mere survival...it didn't matter. She had told him she was more than willing; pleaded with him, in fact. And she wasn't done, apparently.

Shocking the living daylights out of him, Relena whipped off the shift she was wearing, exposing her naked body to the crowd. The parishioners let out appreciative gasps and cheers. Trowa ogled her body openly, but what else could he do? She was flawless, her figure slim but shapely. Her breasts were round and perky, tipped by delicate pink areolae. And her navel was lucious, her pubic area smooth and bare. Despite her petite frame, her legs were long and toned, no doubt from years of yoga, pilates, or perhaps ballet; Trowa could see Relena as a dancer. Finally, he glanced down to her dainty bare feet, noticing her blush-colored toenail polish.

She was the picture of seductive innocence, an angel and a devil woman, all rolled into one. No wonder the parishioners kept calling her a witch; she was some kind of enchantress, at least where he was concerned.

Relena sauntered up to him, quite brazenly, and picked up the pitcher of oil.

"I'm ready for you to anoint me… _Daddy,_" she purred.

Trowa was rock-hard, and the realization disturbed him. "Goddammit," he muttered. "Do you have to keep calling me that?" It was bordering on sickening.

Relena just smirked at him and said through gritted teeth, "Just instruct me to lie down and start massaging this stuff on me, already."

"Yes, your Highness," Trowa hissed. But he turned back to the crowd, and announced how he was going to do everything she'd just said.

Relena hopped up onto the table and laid down prone, as if she were about to get an ordinary massage. Trowa wondered if he should lay her discarded shift over her backside to hide her rear from the onlookers, but they'd already seen her completely naked, and she didn't seem to have any shame at all. So Trowa pushed the thought aside and grabbed the pitcher. He oiled up his hands, and proceeded to rub the oil into Relena's skin. She let out a long, breathless moan that made him twitch with unfulfilled desire.

He struggled to maintain his composure and keep his face a mask as he rubbed her up and down. Once he had covered her backside, Relena turned over, and laid supine while waiting for him to do her front. To Trowa's chagrin, his hands were shaking as they glided over her, like he'd never done anything like this before.

Well, he'd never oiled a naked woman up in front of an audience, so. This was new.

He pretended he was just doing a new act at the circus, and continued massaging Relena, and continued to elicit moans of pleasure from her supple lips. All Trowa could think about was climbing on top of that table and kissing her again. He wanted to do so much more than kiss her.

He wanted to go completely wild on her.

He'd oiled her up as much as he could, until her skin was slick and covered with a sheen. And she smelled sickly sweet, like cinnamon and other spices. She didn't seem the least bit affected, though, giving Trowa a saucy wink when she caught his eye. He got the sense that the Foreign Minister he'd always seen as quiet and demure was actually a force to be reckoned in the bedroom. She certainly gave the impression that she was far more into kink than Trowa was. Unless she was doing a very good job of acting, she seemed to be enjoying this.

And then she broke character to whisper harshly at him. "Get on the table," she hissed. "Make it look like you're in control here."

"Working on it," he gritted out. And so he climbed onto the table, and positioned himself over Relena. With his robe still on...maybe he could just make it _look_ like they were having sex, although Relena had already said she didn't think this group would fall for that.

Sure enough, he felt a set of female hands on his shoulders. He could only assume it was Lucy. And she was removing his robe.

"You look wonderful, Father," Lucy breathed into his ear. "You two are so beautiful together…"

She squeezed his bare shoulders and Trowa felt a shiver rush down his spine. This was probably the closest he'd ever come to a threesome. While the idea had always appealed to him, he had yet to meet a woman who was willing, and it wasn't the sort of thing one casually brought up in conversation. Knowing Relena had already surrendered herself to Lucy and three _other_ women, earlier…

Well, maybe this was going to be Trowa's lucky night. Things weren't all that bad.

But Lucy drifted back to her seat, so Trowa returned his full attention to Relena. They had a show to put on, after all.

He didn't have to work hard to focus on her, anyway. She was gorgeous, and glowing, and all around him. She sat up so that they were facing one another, their bodies close together, her long hair tickling his bare chest. And then she closed her hand around his shaft and smiled at him.

"You were right," she murmured. "Looks like I didn't draw the short stick, after all."

She tugged roughly on his hardened member, and Trowa stifled a groan. She was taking control of the situation, and he doubted that made him look good in the eyes of his "disciples." But Relena seemed hell-bent on having the upper hand...literally.

She rubbed her hand up and down his shaft and then lowered her head. And Trowa's thoughts turned to mush in his brain as her lips closed around his rounded tip. And then she was sucking him off, heartily, her lips and tongue making maddening slurping and smacking sounds as she attacked his penis. She alternated kissing and sucking and licking him up and down while stroking his shaft at a steady pace.

Trowa's mind was blank, other than trying to rapidly process all of the glorious sensations pulsing through his core. His eyes rolled in the back of his head, but then he forced himself to watch the incredible sight before him–– of this gorgeous naked woman, on her knees, taking him deep into her throat, working him like her life depended on it.

Because it did.

The thought sobered him, and he found that he couldn't enjoy himself as much as he wanted to. He felt himself deflating a bit, but Relena only attacked his cock with more vigor. Her tongue was doing vicious things to him, and now, all he could think about was payback.

With a growl, he ripped himself from her mouth, and knocked her back onto the table. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Tr– I mean, Father…" she gasped.

Trowa grabbed both her knees and wrenched her legs apart, positioning his head between her thighs.

Normally he would start this nice and slowly, but after what she'd done to him, in front of their rapt audience…he decided to show no mercy.

He plunged his tongue inside of her, then pulled back and sucked hard on her clit, then assaulted her insides all over again. He licked her up and down, swirled his tongue around, slurping at her increasing wetness as obscenely as she'd done to him, the sounds of his efforts reverberating in the sanctuary's acoustics. The only sound that could possibly drown him out was the scream that tore from Relena's throat.

Her thighs were clenched tightly around his head like a vise, threatening to render him unconscious if she added any more pressure. And her hands were fisted in his hair. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her head thrown back, her breasts sweaty and heaving. Trowa kept his eyes on her, devouring every tantalizing second. It was magnificent, seeing her come undone like this. He had no idea she even had it in her, but… She was astonishing.

Trowa continued to punish her with his tongue, even after she'd cried out multiple times. He lost count of how many times, but he wasn't done. He could do this all night. Even after this whole stupid ceremony was over, and backup finally arrived, and…

Shit. Now he worried he'd pushed things too far. Because he remembered who was supposed to be rescuing the woman he was currently eating out in front of a hundred people.

Relena yanked his hair by the roots, wrenching his attention back to her.

Ah, fuck it.

She opened her eyes and stared hard at him, her expression unreadable. Which was odd because Trowa had always found her so easy to read. From her cries of ecstasy, he'd thought she was enjoying this, but now he wasn't so sure.

They locked eyes for what felt like several long minutes, with Trowa's tongue still working her insides. He didn't dare stop. Maybe she was just trying to stall for time, like he was.

Her hands were still in his hair, and she brushed his long bangs off his face. Now, he was staring up at her with both his eyes. He saw her expression soften.

"Trowa," she whispered. His heart hammered in his chest.

Hearing her say his name in this context… It did something to him that he couldn't put into words.

That's when Trowa forgot everyone and everything else entirely.

He pushed himself up on the table so that he was leaning over her, bracing his weight on his elbows and knees. He brought a hand up to her face, and pushed back a strand of her pink hair that was stuck to her cheek. Her eyes were swimming up at him, her dark lashes fanning, her skin glistening with sweat.

Trowa had never seen a more beautiful woman in all his life.

And in that moment, he could see nothing and no one else. They were wrapped in a soft glow together, bathed in candlelight, the only two people in the room, in the universe.

Trowa bent his head and caught her lips with his, and kissed her like they had all the time in the world.


	10. Chapter 10

Relena wound her arms around Trowa's neck, pulling him down closer to her, deepening their kiss. For a long, heavenly moment, she forgot where they were completely. All she could focus on was Trowa. His lips. His hands. His gorgeous, chiseled body. The way he'd rendered her breathless and reeling, it was as if the man's body was built for pleasure.

This was exactly what she'd wanted; to lose herself and drift away from this situation. With Trowa Barton, of all people. Before tonight, she'd never looked at him in a sexual way, although in truth, she'd always found him attractive.

But now...they were naked and sweaty and tangled up together, writhing around on a stone table, in a church, in front of a sex cult.

And Relena thought her pre-war adventures were wild…

She had to wonder how much of this was real. She toyed with the idea of telling Trowa, afterward, that she wasn't acting. How could she fake all those orgasms? There was no way. But she had a feeling he was good at going through the motions. His erection was real, sure, but that was to be expected; any heterosexual man would have one in his situation.

Then Trowa stopped kissing her, long enough to press his forehead against hers, and she glimpsed a vulnerability in his eyes she had never seen before. He always wore a mask, keeping half his face covered. But now he was bare before her in every sense of the word.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

"Yes," she whispered back.

His lips twitched into a half-smile. "Should we...take this all the way?"

"Yes, please." Relena grinned up at him. "Take me, Daddy."

He chuckled, his chest rumbling. "Careful. A guy could get used to that."

And then she felt the tip of his penis push against her center, and he eased himself inside of her so seamlessly, it was as if they'd already done this together hundreds of times.

Relena let out a breathy moan when she felt his first stroke inside her. She held on to his shoulders as he adjusted his position and began to set a rhythmic pace. After a moment, he increased the speed and force of his thrusts, and Relena gripped him harder. The faster he moved, the tighter she held on. And when he started pushing in even harder and deeper, until Relena was certain he might crack her in half, she cried out and raked her fingernails down his back, hard enough to leave marks.

Just when Relena was ready to fall apart, she sucked in a gasp as Trowa flipped her over, pulling her hips up as he did so. Relena splayed her palms on the table and balanced on her hands and knees so that she was on all fours, no doubt the position Trowa was guiding her into. And then he entered her from behind, slowly at first, clutching her hips as he set an even more frantic pace. Relena's hips bucked, and her back arched, and she let her head fall back, moaning as she did so. Trowa tugged on her hair, pulling her head back to capture her lips in a quick kiss, then continued his torturous ministrations. He kept one hand on her hip while the other palmed her breasts, alternating between them, mercilessly teasing her nipples.

And then the hand that was holding on to her hip dipped downward, and he began to stroke her clit as he continued pummeling away inside her. Her sensitive bundle of nerves lit on fire, and warmth flooded her center. And then Relena completely lost it, not for the first time that night.

"_Tr-r-o-w-aaaaa," _she moaned.

He jerked her by the hair and snarled in her ear. "Don't call me that!"

Oops. She forgot where they were for a minute.

Back to playing her part, then.

Relena tossed her head back, sending her hair whipping over her shoulder, and cried out, "_Ohhhhhhh,_ fuck me, Daddy!"

Trowa growled something else at her, but Relena tuned him out, losing herself to his masterful skills once again. She was loving this position and how she could feel every inch of him inside her, even though it hurt. It was the best kind of hurt. But she wanted to feel more of him, still. She wanted to be closer to him, somehow.

So Relena moved backward, balancing on her knees, half-sitting up and pressing her back against Trowa's chiseled chest. She briefly severed their connection, but she grabbed hold of Trowa's cock while she was moving against him. He breathed sharply in her ear. She guided his penis back to her entrance, and sat down on it. Trowa began to thrust upward, and Relena moved up and down, clenching her walls around him. She leaned back against his chest, and his hands held her in place, gripping her hips. And then, as if he realized that she was facing the crowd fully naked while he fucked her from behind, he covered both her breasts with his hands.

And then he kissed her hard on the mouth. Relena kissed him with equal passion, nipping at his lower lip. His mouth devoured hers even more.

Relena's head was spinning, her heart was beating in time to the rhythm of their shared movements, a perfectly synchronized dance. In his arms, she was deliriously happy, more so than she thought she could ever be again. It didn't matter where they were or who was watching them; none of that mattered. All that mattered now was the two of them, and this wild and wonderful new love they were making.

Pressure was mounting inside of her for the umpteenth time since they'd started, and Relena knew she couldn't take it any more. Her release came in an explosion that rocked her center, and left her legs shaking. Thankfully, Trowa's release immediately followed, and she felt the warm wetness of his seed filling her up. He pulled out of her as she moved off of him, and they slumped together, both exhausted by their joint efforts. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he pressed a kiss to her sweaty forehead. Relena, in turn, kissed his shoulder.

Then she raised her eyes to look at him, and saw his emerald eyes – both of them – sparkling as he smiled at her. His eyes were dancing, a smile tugging on his lips, and she could only imagine what she must look like.

She was guessing that it wasn't… great. But she didn't have time to dwell on it. She couldn't help but let out a self-conscious giggle as the world came back to her, and she realized the entire room had erupted into cheers of praise and applause. Trowa began laughing, too, until they were both in hysterics.

Relena hid her face in his chest as she completely lost it, only this time it was laughter, not orgasms, rocking her entire body.

"Trowa…" She gasped, struggling for breath, clutching both his shoulders for dear life. "Silence me, please."

So he did, tipping her face up to kiss her. And as they entwined themselves again, Relena had to wonder if they'd managed to run out the clock. She twisted around in Trowa's grasp to look at the clock on the back wall.

Five minutes to midnight.

They'd made it... almost.

Relena cast a worried glance at Trowa. "Now what?" she whispered. He gave her a wry smile.

"This is the part where I sacrifice you, I think."

Relena punched him lightly on the arm. "Funny."

Trowa chuckled and snaked an arm around her waist. "I wouldn't dream of it. Fuck these people."

"Trowa!" she whispered sharply. "They might hear you!"

He answered her with another kiss. And Relena caved in, wrapping her arms around him, ignoring the fact that they could very well die in the next five minutes. If they did, then, what a way to go, right?

"Whoaaaaaa, now wait just a minute," an all-too-familiar voice hooted nearby. Relena and Trowa broke away from each other and swiveled toward the voice.

Duo Maxwell stood to the side of the pulpit, wearing a suit and tie like the ones the other men were wearing, with an idiotic grin plastered on his face.

"Well, fuck," he said with a hearty chuckle. "Looks like I missed the party. Hope you at least save me some treats."

Relena's face heated, and she did her best to hide behind Trowa. It was one thing for strangers to see her naked, but not someone she was actually friends with; well, other than Trowa. They were more than friends, now. Or so she thought.

Duo's sudden appearance caused quite a commotion among the congregation.

"Who is that?" someone yelled.

"Name's Heero Yuy," Duo said with a chuckle. "This guy, ah, Aiden, invited me. He approved my Facebook request to join the group and all."

Relena groaned and covered her face with her hands.

"Welcome, _Heero," _Trowa said through gritted teeth. "Might I have a word with you?" He motioned Duo over to them.

Duo flashed him a grin. "You bet, you chiseled naked god-man, you."

Oh, God. They were all going to die.

Relena kept herself hidden behind Trowa as Duo approached.

"Nice hair," the braided Preventer teased when he saw her. She glared icicles at him.

"Duo," Trowa hissed. "Is it _handled_?"

"Oh, it's handled," Duo said casually.

"It'd better be," Trowa snarled.

"Relax, _Daddy_; I've got this." Duo gave Relena a wink, and she wanted to melt through the floorboards.

Oh God, he'd _heard _that.

"And… would you look at that?" Duo glanced down at his wristwatch. "Right on schedule."

Relena frowned at him. "What are you talking about?"

"The second act of this little ceremony," Duo said, his violet eyes gleaming. "Looks like you two kicked things off with a bang. But now, we're gonna have a real blas––"

Duo's voice was drowned out by a deafening sound that was way too close to them. The entire sanctuary shook as an explosion rocked the church. Relena cried out and covered her ears with her hands. Trowa shielded her from the blast, diving over her, but then they both tumbled off the altar, rolling onto the carpeted floor.

Pandemonium broke out in the sanctuary, people screaming and shouting and stampeding one another to get out of there.

But they weren't going anywhere.

Relena wrenched her head up and looked to the doors at the front of the church, that now had a smoking, gaping hole in the middle of them. A figure stood on the other side, but he didn't stay there long, kicking one of the doors off of its hinges.

Their eyes locked across the room, and Relena's mouth fell open. And she didn't need to hear Heero's voice to know exactly what he was saying.

"What…the fuck."

* * *

_A/N: ... NOW WHAT? :D Stay tuned; this story will be concluding this week. Thanks to those of you who have taken the time to read and review!_

_\- RFP_


	11. Chapter 11

One minute, Trowa was on the floor, shielding Relena from an explosion. For a split second, he worried that the ADM had actually gone off. Once he realized that none of them had been incinerated, he breathed a deep sigh of relief. But what about the other explosion?

He raised his head to look toward the source of the boom, but he didn't even have a chance to see what was happening. Because no sooner had he started to get up than he was knocked backward by a hard, wiry mass of muscle and bone plowing into him.

"What the––"

He tried to get a word in, but a fist cracked across his jaw. Trowa reached his arms up to block his face, crossing them in front of him, but his assailant wrenched them apart, straddling him. Which was as awkward as it was anything else, because Trowa was still naked. But he couldn't worry about that now; he had to try to protect himself from the fucker who'd jumped on him and started pounding on him.

Trowa's face and arms were being rained down upon by fists that might as well have been made of iron, and he began to see and taste blood. He heard Relena cry out for him, to no avail; his attacker wouldn't let up the assault. Trowa could sense others crowding around, trying to intervene, but there was no use.

With some Herculean effort, Trowa mustered what was left of his waning strength and landed an uppercut to the other man's stomach. Once he pushed him off, he could finally see who it was.

Heero let out a groan, but then launched right back up to his feet, rushing back over to Trowa with bullet-like speed. Trowa didn't even have time to react before he was down again. Thankfully, he landed on carpet, otherwise he might have shattered his skull from the force of the impact.

"Heero!" he rasped, trying unsuccessfully to push the other man off of him, before Heero could break every bone in Trowa's face. "Stop!" he sputtered.

"_What the hell did you do?!" _Heero roared in a voice that was more animal than human. "_I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH HER!"_

Trowa was wrong. He was going to die after all. Which was just as well. At least the last hour or so of his life had been pleasant.

"_HEERO!"_

Relena's shriek rivaled Heero's in volume. But Heero ignored her, his murderous gaze fixed on Trowa.

"I. Will. Kill. You."

Trowa braced himself for another blow, but then Relena dove in between them, spreading her arms out in front of Trowa.

Trowa was wrong earlier. With he and Relena still stark naked, and Heero bearing down on them... _This_ was the closest he'd ever come to a threesome.

"Heero! Leave him alone!" Relena cried. "This isn't his fault!"

"Yes it is," Heero seethed, grabbing hold of her shoulders. "Move," he snarled at her.

"No," she said hotly, bringing her face close to his. "I won't until you promise not to hurt him."

Heero's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I can't do that. He has to pay for what he did."

"If you're going to punish anyone, it should be me. I told him to do it."

Heero's eyes jerked wide, like he'd just been sucker punched. "You what?"

"We were going to die, Heero!"

His eyes tightened again. "You couldn't have thought of _anything_ else?"

"You would've done the same thing!" she yelled at him.

"Yeah, because I'M ALREADY FUCKING YOU!" he yelled right back at her.

Okay, that was news, and not exactly what Relena had told Trowa earlier. This had gotten far beyond awkward. Trowa thought maybe he ought to let them work out their differences, and slink away while they were still arguing.

Trowa was about to do just that, but as soon as he moved away from them, Heero knocked Relena onto the floor, pinning her down with her wrists over her head. She cried and struggled against his hold. Trowa launched himself at Heero, trying to push him off of her.

"Let her go!" Trowa shouted, but Heero drove his elbow backward into Trowa's ribcage, knocking the wind out of him.

"Shut up," Heero growled. "I'm dealing with her."

Trowa clutched his sore abdomen, which hurt only half as much as his face, which was still leaking blood, dripping onto the carpet that had already seen better days. He struggled to his feet before Heero could actually hurt Relena; there was no way Trowa was going to stand by and watch Heero _beat _her.

But Heero flipped Relena over onto her stomach and did just that, striking her bare bottom. Relena cried out, but it was more of a moan... much like the sounds Trowa had elicited from her earlier. Heero spanked her again, and she moaned even louder.

Trowa stood staring at the scene unfolding before him, breathing raggedly. This was not how he expected things to go. Heero was straddling Relena while she was lying facedown on the carpet, spanking her over and over…and she appeared to be loving it.

Trowa shook his head to the side, registering his defeat. This was fucking ridiculous. He decided that all he could do now was find his clothes, try to gather what remained of his dignity, and report back to HQ.

By then the parishioners were being rounded up by the local police, with Preventers assisting. The room was full of law enforcement personnel and agents, and proud as Trowa was of his physique, he did not want everyone in the room looking at his naked body. So he shuffled off while he still had a chance, back to the hallway where he'd stashed his clothes. Once he was dressed, he retrieved Relena's clothes from the women's bathroom, figuring it was the least he could do.

While he was in there, Trowa looked at his face in the mirror. He looked like shit, but he was lucky Heero hadn't beaten him to a bloody pulp. He did spit out a wad of blood, though, and thought he felt a few loose teeth. Thankfully everything was staying put for the moment, but he was pretty sure his nose was broken. He needed medical attention, stat; he wasn't too keen on losing any teeth or having his nose stay crooked.

Trowa splashed cold water on his face and cleaned himself up as best he could with liquid soap and paper towels, then trudged back into the sanctuary, finding a much calmer scene. Most of the parishioners had been escorted out of the church, and Trowa arrived just in time to see a couple of burly Preventers leading Aiden away in cuffs.

Aiden swung wild eyes over to Trowa, and the two identical men locked gazes.

"What the––" Aiden stammered. "Who the hell are you?"

Trowa smiled at him. "I'm you," he said simply. Then he walked over to where he saw several agents were gathered, including Sally and Duo.

"Hell of a night, huh?" Duo slapped Trowa on the back. Trowa winced. He was still in pain from the beating Heero had given him. Speaking of…

"Where's Relena?" Trowa glanced all around them, but he didn't see her. "I have her clothes."

"Who knows?" Duo chuckled. "She and Heero probably went to go kill each other somewhere else."

Trowa's jaw clenched. Great. Heero was probably fucking the living daylights out of her, because he could.

Trowa handed Relena's clothes to Sally. "Give these to her when you see her, all right?" Then he turned on his heel to leave. Where he was going, he didn't know yet. He certainly wasn't going to leave with the others, though. He needed time alone to process everything that had just happened.

"Where do you think you're going?" a low female voice sounded behind him. A hand closed over his shoulder, and Trowa turned to see Sally frowning at him. "You need first aid."

"I'm fine," Trowa groused. Maybe he didn't care whether his injuries healed properly after all. What was one more scar?

Trowa shuffled toward the blasted church doors, but another voice halted him. "So you were cloned too, huh?"

Trowa didn't bother turning around to face Heero. He wasn't exactly in the mood for a friendly chat.

"Evidently," Trowa snipped. But then, his interest was piqued. "What happened to yours?" He cut a glance over his shoulder to see Heero leaning against one of the pews.

"He did not survive," Heero said with a shrug.

Trowa arched a brow. "Did you kill him?"

"No." Heero didn't elaborate, and Trowa didn't press him. Heero nodded his head toward what was left of the doors. "Are you going to interrogate him?"

"Maybe." Trowa wondered why they were even having this conversation after what had just transpired between them. Then again, this was how things usually worked with Heero; once he'd beaten the shit out of you, he tended to calm down a little.

Heero tipped his chin toward him. "Good luck with that."

"Thanks." Trowa didn't know what else to say after that. He wanted to ask where Relena was, but he also wanted to avoid another beatdown.

Heero didn't bother apologizing for said beatdown, which was just as well; because then Trowa would feel obligated to apologize for having sex with Relena, and the truth was, he wasn't the least bit sorry.

However fleeting, he felt like the connection they'd shared was real. And no matter what happened from here on out, Trowa was determined to hold on to that feeling for as long as possible. Even if it got him nowhere. Because he was nothing, and no one.

Trowa jammed his hands in his blazer pockets and shuffled out of the church, past the police cars, SUVs and armored vehicles that belonged to the North American branch of the Preventers. He descended the church steps and took to the sidewalk, heading for where he'd left the car that had brought him to this strange place.

He walked away without another look back.


	12. Chapter 12

Relena returned to the sanctuary to find it mostly empty, save for a few officers who were taking photographs of the scene, including the altar where she and Trowa had enacted their little "ritual." She shivered and rushed past the pulpit area, looking for her co-performer.

She had changed into a spare Preventers uniform that one of the local agents had given her, after covering Relena up with a shock blanket. The female agent had come across Heero "disciplining" Relena behind the pulpit, and the other woman was not having it. She screamed at him that he had better stop walloping Relena or she would take him into custody. Heero had scowled at the other agent but ultimately complied. Relena had to assure the agent that everything was fine between her and Heero, even though it wasn't; not exactly.

Relena left Heero with a few choice words before retreating to the ladies' room to change. Once she arrived there, she found that her old clothes were missing, but that was just as well. She didn't necessarily want them when she started thinking about how they were removed against her will.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Relena glanced around the sanctuary. Her gaze landed on Heero, who was sulking all by himself, leaning on one of the pews toward the front of the church. Relena would have to pass him to leave the building, anyway, so she sighed and traipsed over to him.

"Heero," she muttered crossly as she neared him. He didn't respond, so she kept walking. But before she could step through the busted doors, she felt him grab her jacket sleeve.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

Relena sucked in a breath but didn't turn around. "I'm sorry, too. But you understand I only did what I had to, right?"

"I know." He dropped her sleeve. Relena turned around to face him. His expression was uncharacteristically contrite, his deep blue eyes glistening. Relena sighed and reached up to touch his cheek.

"We'll have to have a longer talk about this, some other time." She sighed again and let go of him. "Right now, I need to go find Trowa."

Heero frowned, but nodded. "Tell him… I'm sorry for…"

"Nearly killing him?" Relena spat.

Heero jammed his hands in his pockets and shifted his eyes to the side. "Yeah."

Relena just nodded and turned on her heel to leave. There was plenty of unfinished business between her and Heero, still, but what else was new?

"I'll see you later, all right?" she said over her shoulder. Heero nodded at her, still looking pretty miserable.

Well, that made two of them.

Make that three.

All Relena knew was that she needed to talk to Trowa and try to make sense of this whole mess. He was the only other person who could possibly understand.

She stepped out of the church and into the dark night, the sidewalk illuminated by streetlights. She saw several agents still milling around, but Trowa was nowhere in sight.

But then she looked ahead several paces, and she saw a tall, lanky figure in a gray suit walking away from the scene.

"Trowa!" she called after him. He didn't turn around, so she cupped her hands over her mouth and called his name again. "TROWA!"

He halted his steps, and turned to look at her. She couldn't make out his expression in the near-darkness, but he didn't appear to be going anywhere, so Relena ran up to him.

He looked her over when she came to a stop before him.

"Nice threads," he quipped, gesturing at her uniform. Relena tugged on the slightly oversized jacket.

"I had to wear something," she said with a shrug.

"I found your clothes," he said. "They're with Sally."

"Oh…" Relena's cheeks burned. "Thank you."

"No problem."

They stood staring at one another for a beat, and once again Relena struggled to make out Trowa's expression. He was cool as a cucumber. Was he even affected by this crazy night at all?

Relena drew in a long, shaky breath, hugging herself. "Why did you leave?" she whispered.

Trowa let out a dry laugh. "You seemed to be enjoying yourself, so…"

Relena sighed. "Okay, I know what that looked like, but I can assure you, Heero and I are _not_ together."

Trowa's brow creased. "Does he know that?"

"It's…complicated." She sighed again. "But what I told you before is true; we were together, for a while, then he broke up with me. But I was crushed, and desperate to keep seeing him, so I suggested we try a more...casual arrangement. And so far that's worked out for us." She shrugged and gave Trowa a half-smile. "So I guess we're just..."

"Fuck buddies?" Trowa supplied.

Relena rolled her eyes. "Must you put it so crassly?"

"Says the woman who screamed, 'Fuck me, Daddy!' in church," Trowa said wryly.

Relena pointed a shaky finger back at the vine-covered building. "_That," _she said hotly, "is no church. It's desecrated."

"It is now," Trowa quipped.

Relena pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look... I came over here to thank you..."

"You don't need to thank me," Trowa cut in, frowning.

"Yes, I do," Relena said, taking a step toward him. "You saved my life. And," she added, lowering her eyes as her cheeks flushed, "gave me all those earth-shattering orgasms, while you were at it."

She glanced up to see Trowa's eyes widen slightly. Then he quickly masked his features. "Well," he said, folding his arms over his chest, "you gave quite a performance yourself. You're a very convincing actress."

"That wasn't _all _acting," Relena said. "Some of the screaming was a tad exaggerated, yes…"

"A tad?" Trowa arched a brow.

"But what I felt," she pressed on, "was real. There's no way I could fake something like that." Her blush deepened, heat lashing her cheeks. "And I thought...maybe you felt it, too."

They fell silent for a moment. Relena stared down at her borrowed boots, wishing Trowa would say he felt the same.

"Well… I ought to thank you as well. For everything," he said quietly. Relena raised her head to meet his gaze.

"I'm just glad we got through it together," she said softly. "We made it out of there alive and... relatively intact."

"Relatively is right," Trowa murmured. Relena bit her lower lip.

"Can I have a hug, at least?"

She opened her arms and waited tentatively. Trowa nodded and pulled her into an embrace. Relena nestled her head against his broad chest, and inhaled deeply. He still smelled like the oils he'd rubbed all over her. Come to think of it, they could both use a shower...that thought filled her mind with wicked ideas, but she didn't want to push Trowa after everything they'd been through.

After a moment, they broke away from one another.

"So...friends?" Relena asked, holding a hand out to him.

Trowa huffed a laugh, and shook her hand. "Something like that."

Relena smiled faintly at him. "Want to go grab a drink somewhere?"

"Sure, why not?" Trowa shrugged. "I could go for some java." Relena laughed and shook her head.

"After the night we just had, I could do with something _much_ stronger."

"Fair enough," Trowa said, smiling. "I'll buy."

Relena grinned and looped her arm in his, and turned back toward the church. Trowa took in a hesitant breath and paused his steps.

"If I go with you, Heero is going to murder me…"

"Don't worry." Relena gave Trowa her most reassuring smile. "I won't let him touch you."

Trowa chuckled. "Touché."

And then they walked together, arm and arm, through the dark night.

* * *

_A/N: All's well that ends well? Guess you'll have to stay tuned to find out..._

_The final chapter of this serial posts tomorrow, so do stay tuned! Thank you to all of the readers and reviewers so far!_

_Love love love,_

_\- RFP_


	13. Chapter 13

Days later, Relena was happy to be back home in Brussels. Even though she had several therapy appointments on her calendar, life, for the most part, had gone back to normal. She was glad to be back to work and coming home to her townhouse every night and, best of all, sleeping in her own bed.

Especially on those nights when she had some pleasant company.

Smiling and stretching, Relena rolled over onto her side and looked at the handsome, naked man sleeping beside her. At least, she thought he was sleeping, but in the moonlight seeping through her curtains, she could see that one emerald eye was open.

"Can't sleep?" he murmured.

She shook her head and he reached for her. She snuggled into his bare chest.

"Tell me a bedtime story?" she whispered playfully. He chuckled.

"All my stories would give you nightmares," he teased, and she laughed lightly. He threaded his hands through her hair, which would take several appointments with her colorist to get back to her usual blonde. After several washes, her tresses had turned a faded shade of pink.

"I do know how to tire you out, though," Trowa murmured. Relena purred seductively in response. He chuckled before capturing her lips with his. He kissed her slowly and methodically, his tongue dancing with hers. Relena left out a soft moan as he caressed her back, then slid his hands up to fondle her breasts. She moaned a little louder when he tugged roughly on her nipples.

"That's right, Daddy's got you," Trowa teased. Relena burst out laughing.

"Stop it," she whispered through giggles.

"You started it." He enveloped her mouth with his and kissed her through her laughter.

Relena pushed his chest playfully. "Quiet, or you'll wake him."

Too late. From the other side of Relena, a snarky baritone muttered, "Could you keep it down over there? Some of us are trying to sleep."

Relena turned over to Heero with a huff. "Well, I'm not tired. So you can either go find another bed to sleep in, or stop being a grouch and help me out."

Heero grumbled something into his pillow, so Relena rolled back over to face Trowa. "I think it's just you and me," she said, looping her arms around his neck.

"Fine by me," Trowa murmured, brushing his lips against her. "Like I said… Daddy's got you."

That did it. Never one to be outdone, Heero snatched Relena by the waist and rolled her over to him, pressing her against his warm, hard naked body. He kissed her hungrily, sweeping his tongue into her mouth. Relena wrapped her body around Heero's, but then Trowa pulled her back over to him and kissed her with even more passion.

And Relena found herself caught in the middle of the most delicious game of tug of war.

Over the next hour or so, Heero and Trowa did their best to wear Relena out. Their efforts were, indeed, successful; by the time they were finished with her, Relena felt absolutely wrecked.

After both men had reached their releases, covering her with their juices, all Relena could do was fall into a deep, languid sleep. Nestled between her two Gundam pilots, her lovers and protectors, safe and warm and utterly satisfied.

* * *

Long after Relena and her _other_ partner had fallen asleep, Heero laid awake. His body was exhausted, but his thoughts refused to stop racing.

To say he wasn't a fan of their current arrangement would be a vast understatement. Heero was doing his best to tolerate this far-from-ideal scenario, for the time being. After all, he and Relena had been through a lot together; she meant a great deal to him, and he wanted to make her happy. He figured after the way he'd hurt her in the past, he owed her that much. If it meant he had to share her with Barton now and then, so be it.

The problem was, in the days following Relena's capture, rescue, and return to Brussels, it had been happening far too frequently for his liking. Trowa had spent the past few nights at Relena's place, so Heero had done the same; even though he had his own apartment, the last thing he wanted was for another man to move in on his territory. Even if Relena had said she'd wanted to keep things casual...the way she and Trowa looked at one another while making love indicated that there was much more going on beneath the surface.

Heero wasn't having it. He'd loved Relena for too long, and exclusively, even when she'd told him he was free to see other people. No one could ever satisfy him the way she could; no one else could ever touch his soul. And she had his heart, soul, every piece of him on lockdown. At the same time, he'd told himself he was fine letting her explore her sexuality with others, because he loved her that much. He wanted to give her her freedom; she was more than willing to do the same for him.

But it wasn't enough. Not anymore. Heero needed more from her.

Pushing the duvet off of him, Heero got up from the bed and padded over to where he'd left his clothes, piled on the floor. He pulled on his jeans and left the room, wandering to the study down the hall, a room he used more often than Relena. His laptop was set up on the desk, so Heero sat down and got to work.

Something had been bothering him over the past few days. Something he couldn't readily express out loud, not to anyone. Not even himself.

If anything, it was more of an inkling. An annoying, nagging voice in the back of his mind, telling him that something wasn't right.

Heero typed in his credentials and wasted no time pulling up the dark web. He was certain that there was far more to the case of Aiden Wardwell than the Preventers had uncovered so far. Undoubtedly, the matter was multi-layered, and they had merely taken a stab at the surface.

For one thing, the man was obviously a clone. But the Preventers had yet to learn who had cloned him, and when. Not to mention why. And then, how did a clone end up forming his very own cult?

So many pieces were missing, still. Heero was surprised, frankly, that Barton seemed less interested than he was in putting it all together.

Maybe because he was too busy fucking Relena.

Heero sat glowering at his screen. It wasn't fair. Barton thought he could just waltz in and carry on with Relena like he'd been part of her life for years. But he hadn't. Heero had been the one to rescue her all those times, to share so many experiences with her; some harrowing, some pleasant, some downright heavenly. Heero and Relena had known one another for the better part of a decade, and while they'd had their ups and downs, he knew in his heart that they were, above all, devoted to one another.

So why didn't it feel that way? Why did it feel like Relena – _his_ Relena – didn't love him any more? That she loved someone else more than him? How was that even possible?

Nothing about their current situation made any sense in Heero's mind. And the more he thought about it, the more it bothered him. Maybe it was all his fault for fucking up what they had in the first place. He should have taken more care, treated her better. He knew he'd broken her heart, years ago, and the guilt ate at him every day. He would do anything to go back and undo it all, prevent her pain, and shield her from any and every danger. Including himself.

There had been a part of him that worried he didn't deserve her, but the deeper he fell in love with her, the more that desolate part of him faded into the background. She had loved him unreservedly; and now, whether or not he was worthy of her goodness, all he wanted was to bask in it.

She was his light, his hope. Without her, life was meaningless. How could he possibly share her?

He had to put a stop to it, somehow. He just didn't know how to go about doing that while preserving his relationship with Relena. She could very well tell him that he was free to leave any time. In fact, she pretty much had, earlier, when she told him he could find another bed to sleep in.

The truth was, Heero was afraid. Afraid of losing her forever.

He dragged his thoughts back to his research, determined to find the missing thread and see wherever it might lead.

Aiden was a clone, but...what about the other cult members?

After a while, Heero came across some group chatter about ritual sacrifices. There was specific language being used, all a guise to make the discussion sound like it was something else entirely. Heero noticed the patterns and jotted a few things down in a notebook, which he planned to burn later. For now, he logged all of the code words and symbols he came across, determined to crack the code.

And that alarm in the back of his mind blared even louder. What if…

Heero paused his reading and ran a hand over his face. He told himself he was losing it. And yet, he couldn't ignore that funny feeling that refused to leave him alone.

Something...wasn't right with Relena. It hadn't been since he found her in that church–– naked, beneath an equally-naked Trowa. Heero knew his anguish over the scenario came from more than mere jealousy. There was just something different about Relena. Like she wasn't _his_ Relena.

What if… Relena…

"Heero?"

He jerked his head up at the sound of her voice. He turned to see her lingering in the doorway, bathed in the soft glow of the hallway light. She was wearing his shirt, which briefly made him smile. Even with her strange pink hair, she was a sight for sore eyes.

"Hey," he said softly, then turned back to his laptop. He heard her sidling up behind him.

"What are you up to?"

"Working."

"This time of night?" She sighed and laced her arms around his neck, peering over his shoulder. "Care to divulge what you're working on?"

"It's classified," he quipped, knowing she would probably roll her eyes at him.

"Hmm," she murmured. And then she came around to one side of the chair, and climbed onto his lap. Heero let her, but kept his eyes glued to the screen. She pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"You and I haven't gotten much alone time lately," she sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder.

_Whose fault is that? _Heero wanted to say. Instead, he just muttered, "Hm," and continued his reading.

Relena traced her pointer finger over his bare chest. "Maybe...we could have a little one on one session now?" She kissed him again, this time on the side of his mouth.

Heero groaned inwardly as his jeans tightened.

"Some other time." Heero gently picked Relena up off his lap, and placed her on her feet beside his chair. Then he stood up himself and snapped his laptop shut, picking it up along with his notebook, and stuffing both into the messenger bag he'd slung over the chair.

Relena gaped at him. "Where are you going?"

"HQ."

"Right now?"

"I have a lot of work to do," he muttered, avoiding her gaze. He heard her sigh deeply.

"Well, then. If you are going out, I suppose you'll need your shirt?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Heero saw Relena strip off his shirt, revealing her bare body beneath. He salivated at the mere sight of her. No matter how many times he'd seen her naked, his body never failed to react, his heart racing into overdrive.

She sauntered up to him with a confident sway of her hips, her lithe yet shapely form begging to be touched. He couldn't avoid looking at her any more than he could resist placing his hands on her hips, drawing her to him. She smiled wickedly at him as he glided his hands up her sides and palmed her breasts, her perfect pink nipples hardening as soon as he touched them.

She parted her lips for a kiss, and Heero obliged her. He kissed her lips and then lowered his head to her breasts, tonguing each nipple. He considered kissing her elsewhere, but… Did he really want to start this, if he wasn't sure?

Relena was writhing in place already, and he'd barely even done anything. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her head lolled back. "Fuck me, Heero," she whimpered.

She grabbed one of his hands and placed it on top of her smooth pubic area. Heero sucked in a breath and closed his eyes as he kissed her lips again, while teasing her entrance with his fingertips. She was _so_ wet; his mouth watered to taste her. She moaned appreciatively into his mouth as he sunk a finger into her warmth.

God, he wanted her. All to himself. But that nagging voice in his head refused to stay silent.

_Heero… _

_Come find me, Heero._

Heero's eyes snapped open.

"I have to go," he said abruptly, breaking away from her. Relena's face fell.

"But, Heero…"

He snatched up his shirt and bolted from the room without bothering to put it on, slinging his laptop bag over his shoulder.

And the voice in his mind grew louder.

_The end… or is it?_

* * *

_A/N: Well, friends, the end of CoL is nigh. We did it! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read and review all the fics I submitted during this crazy month. Now, I don't know about you, but I seriously need a nap..._

_I want to thank JenJenGundamFan once again for organizing this epic event and keeping everyone on schedule all month; it's a big task but she handled it with aplomb. Also, thank you to my friends, cheerleaders, and beta readers, Scarlet Eve and Mistaken Miracles, for reading my work in its very early stages and always providing helpful feedback and suggestions. You all have MM to thank for this "bonus" chapter; I was going to end the story after the previous chapter, but MM talked me into an ending where Relena ends up with Heero and Trowa, for once (although I just couldn't resist adding a little twist at the end)._

_Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this one... it was really different fare for me, and it was fun to let myself go off the rails. I don't know if I'll be writing anything else like this any time soon, but I do appreciate those of you who gave it a shot!_

_So, that's a wrap. See you next month! ;)_

_Love love love,_

_\- RFP_


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